


Missing (isn't always so bad)

by whattheskyknows



Category: New Dangan Ronpa V3: Everyone's New Semester of Killing
Genre: I guess even the tags are spoilers?, I said I was gonna wait until next year to post a new chapter but that was a lie, Major DRV3 Spoilers, Other, Spoilers, basically I really like Rantaro so he doesn't get hit with any shot put balls, basically a rewrite, literally spoilers for the entire game
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-06-19
Updated: 2020-02-17
Packaged: 2020-03-13 04:00:31
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 27
Words: 248,356
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18932974
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/whattheskyknows/pseuds/whattheskyknows
Summary: Rantaro is on the library floor when the body discovery goes off."A body has been discovered! Everyone please gather in the school dormitories!"From a different part of the academy, someone trembles with a clean shot put ball in their hands.





	1. Chapter 1

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Rantaro is on the library floor when the body discovery goes off.
> 
> "A body has been discovered! Everyone please gather in the school dormitories!"
> 
> From a different part of the academy, someone trembles with a clean shot put ball in their hands.

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\---

"A body has been discovered! Everyone please gather in the school dormitories!" 

Rantaro is on the library floor when the body discovery goes off. Tenko is on top of him, her leg digging painfully into his back. To his side, Kaito kneels down next to him and has a hand on his shoulder, though he isn’t putting any real pressure on top of it.

“H-Huh?”

Kaede looks startled as she looks at the monitor, hands thrown up in surprise.

“What’s...happening?” Tenko slowly pulls herself up from the floor, wiping her skirt with a small look of disgust. “Tenko thought...we had stopped the killing game?”

“What’s going on, Akamatsu?” Kaito trails off, looking down at Rantaro and then back up at Kaede.

"That's what I want to know," Rantaro says, finally able to pull himself up from the ground. His body aches from where Tenko had knocked him into the bookcase and then the floor. There is a blossoming bruise starting to already grow on his cheek. 

“You’re…” Kaede looks so uncertain as she eyes the monitor and then Rantaro. “Huh?”

“Akamatsu,” Shuichi finally puts an end to the confused noises. “We should head to the dormitory to see what’s going on.”

“Y-Yeah,” Kaito has a fine layer of sweat growing on his face as he starts to stumble out from the library first. “I’ll make sure everyone else gets there.”

“Tenko shall join you!” The aikido master grabs onto Kaede’s hand as she drags the two of them out of the room.

Rantaro simply blinks as he finally stables himself, one hand holding onto the bookshelf and the other holding onto his monopad. He’s in pain, his entire body protesting every movement as he makes his way past Shuichi and out of the library. He can hear the detective talking, probably to him, but he decides to ignore him.

He's never really trusted anyone here in the first place.

One moment he was standing by the bookcase, trying to figure out how to get inside the secret door, the next there is a bright light that blinds him momentarily but also draws him closer. Then, a shot put ball lands inches away from his head and lands heavily on the floor next to him, just missing him. 

Kaede's face had looked awfully guilty when she had spotted the shot put ball in the library.

He heads up the stairs and out of the academy on his own. Kaito’s group is already close to the dormitories and he spots some people inside already.

The biggest surprise is when he spots Monokuma frantically running about and the Monokubs look absolutely clueless themselves, all of them bouncing around outside the dormitories helplessly with panicked looks on their faces. He walks past them and steps inside the dormitories himself.

“Gonta can’t believe…”

“So someone really did die…”

“Someone? We can hardly call him someone! Perhaps something-”

“Ouma shut the hell up!”

“Kiibo, oh poor, Kiibo!”

Rantaro can hear Miu’s wails from up the stairs where Kiibo’s bedroom is. The steps are swarmed with students already, peering into the robot’s bedroom. The door is flung open and though he doesn’t have a good view, Rantaro guesses Miu is kneeling next to the robot.

“You can fix him right?” Monokuma asks suddenly, his face red with anxiety. He’s sweating an unusual amount for a robotic bear.

“I don’t know!” Miu barks back loudly.

Rantaro anxiously stands at the bottom of the steps, his monopad gripped tightly in his hand. He feels sick, standing there uselessly.

If only he had managed to open the door quicker, then-

“Amami looks really stressed!” 

Kokichi smiles sweetly up at him, seemingly unfazed by everything unfolding right in front of him. He does, however, look more disheveled than Rantaro has ever seen him before.

Perhaps Kokichi notices his staring because he starts to look offended. “Are you judging how I look right now? That’s so mean!” He starts crying only for a moment before he stops. “If you must know, I was sleeping before Kiibo woke me up. How inconsiderate!”

“Kiibo woke you up?” Rantaro is surprised, looking at the leader with wide eyes.

“Yeah, just before I killed him-”

In front of them, Ryoma lets out a loud sigh and turns around. “Stop lying. You didn’t kill him.”

Kokichi smiles lazily. “Oh, you got me! Hoshi is really smart.”

Ryoma raises an eyebrow before pulling on his hat. “If you’re going to tell everyone what happened, at least let it be the truth.”

“Tell everyone?” Kaede quietly asks. She’s stood in front of Ryoma on the steps so she easily heard their conversation.

Kokichi nods. “Yep!” He pops the ‘P’ loudly. “So listen up everyone!”

Somehow, everyone turns to him instantly. Rantaro is surprised that everyone decided to listen to Kokichi first try. He hasn’t exactly been the most reliable or truthful ever since his introduction. 

“W-Wait! I forbid you to say anything! We save this stuff for a class trial!” Monokuma pushes his way down the stairs and angrily glares up at Kokichi. “You! Keep your mouth shut!”

“Huh?” Kokichi’s expression melts into a one of fear. “Amami! Save me!”

“Hey! I thought we were supposed to gather as much information as we can for a class trial!” Kaito yells. He’s stood at the top of the stairs and probably has a good view of the crime scene, which seems to be Kiibo’s bedroom.

Kirumi nods. “I agree. Wouldn’t Ouma's testimony be good to hear?”

For a moment, Monokuma is quiet wearing a simple poker face before he springs back to life. “Nope! We wait until we’re at the trial grounds!”

“So we have to be quiet?” Ryoma asks.

Monokuma spins to face him too. “Both you and Ouma need to keep your mouths shut until I say so. Got it?” 

Rantaro remains quiet. So Ryoma and Kokichi both knew what happened? If that’s the case then perhaps the two of them are the biggest suspects of this case. He looks at the two of them. Ryoma continues to pull on his hat on the steps tiredly whilst Kokichi is still hiding behind him, obviously pretending to be scared. Rantaro frowns. He couldn’t imagine either of them doing anything. Then again can he really trust anyone here?

“So...he really is broken?” Tsumugi asks in a small voice. She’s stood outside of Kiibo’s bedroom to the side, hands clasped in front of her and a sad look on her face. “Oh…”

Miu clears her throat loudly. “I can probably try to fix him if we bring him to my lab, although I can’t carry him myself…” she squirms sadly and then a second later points a finger. “You!”

“G-Gonta?!” Gonta points to himself.

“Carry Kiibo to my lab for me!” she demands, pulling herself up.

“Gonta can do that! Gonta do anything to help friends!” He heads up the stairs and easily scoops the unresponsive robot into his arms, stomping down the steps behind Miu. The two leave silently, though Rantaro spots the look of nervousness on Miu’s face.

“W-Wait! You can’t just take the body away from the crime scene!” Monokuma screeches after them, running out of the dormitory doors.

The bear leaves them all to bask in silence.

“So, maybe you can tell us what happened now that Monokuma is gone?” Kaito suggests.

“Not so fast!” 

The Monokubs enter the room with astonishing speed that surprises all the students.

“Daddy said that no one can share anything!” Monophanie reveals.

“Yeah, no secrets, no murders, no saliva-”

“Saliva?” Himiko questions to herself. Besides her, Tenko sweats.

“Yes, so all youse better behave!” Monosuke yells, adjusting his glasses.

“Aw man!” Kokichi smiles. He doesn’t seem all that bothered. “Oh well, I guess I’ll kiss Momota later!”

"Why me?!" Kaito pales, grasping the railing of the steps with sweaty hands.

Kirumi sighs. “Ouma, could you please refrain from being silly right now.”

“Okay!”

Again, the room goes quiet.

“Um…” Tsumugi nervously stands at the top of the steps. “We are allowed to check out Kiibo's room, right? It's just Ouma and Hoshi who have to be quiet?

“...” 

“...”

“...”

“...”

“That-will-be-fine. If-it-helps-everyone-get-along.”

“Monodam!” Monotaro yelps. “Father never gave us permission-”

“If we get into trouble, we’ll put all the blame on you!” Monokid smashes a guitar into the ground.

Monodam doesn’t seem to care, remaining silent.

“So, I guess the only useful place to look is Kiibo's room for this investigation, yes?” Korekiyo suggests.

“Atua says that’s the only place we can look!” Angie agrees, skipping up the stairs.

Everyone follows after her, perhaps glad that at least someone so carefree was going to enter the room first.

“Hmm,” Kaito looks stumped. He's barely looked around the room for more than a couple of seconds. “I really don’t see anything that could help.”

Kaito does have a point. Kiibo’s room is painfully normal. Despite being a robot, he has a bed pushed up against the wall though there is no signs of the sheets ever being used. His desk is in the same spot alongside his television and every other piece of furniture in the room. When they check the wardrobe, they see that it is also empty, completely void of any clothing. His desk drawers and bedside drawers also have nothing inside of them.

“It’s almost like no one used this room,” Korekiyo muses as he steps around.

It’s true. The only sign of this bedroom being used is a plug and wire coming from the wall. However, when they investigate it, they soon realise that it is just a charger for the robot.

The bathroom also holds no clues. The shower and toilet look unused. There is, however, a small layer of dust building up on any handles and counters.

“He probably never even went into this room,” Shuichi says softly when he investigates it, closing the door behind him. “There’s no reason for us to go back in.”

Rantaro is surprised at the anger he feels when he hears the detective’s voice. So far, that has been the first thing that he had said since he entered the room. Kaede has spent all her time looking around aimlessly and staying besides Shuichi. She hasn’t said a single thing to anyone since she took one step into the bedroom. He would be lying if he wasn't suspicious of the two. Kaede especially. It seems she thinks that he's suspicious. 

Rantaro decides to be extremely wary of her. 

“This is pointless,” Himiko complains moments later, leaning heavily against the bedroom wall. “There’s nothing to find!”

Maki nods in agreement. “There’s no evidence to be seen.”

“Yep, no evidence to be seen!” Kokichi agrees with her.

Maki scowls at him from across the room.

“So, what do we do now?” Kaito scratches the back of his head. 

“I don’t know, maybe stop looking?” Kokichi responds. “There’s no point in looking. Like I said no evidence to be seen. None at all! But you know…”

“You know?” Kirumi sends him a pointed look.

“You know?!” Kokichi looks surprised. “What do you know, Tojo?”

The maid blinks at him. “Stop fooling around. You know I was waiting for you to give us an answer.”

“Eh? Am I not allowed to say anything?" Kokichi sniffles. "First Monokuma says I can't say anything and now you're all ganging up on me! This is so unfair! It's not like I'm the one who makes the most noise in the first place!"

"Are you sure about that?" Maki looks fed up, her scowl darker than before. “If you’re not going to help, shut up.”

Ryoma looks like he's realised something. "Yeah, I guess Ouma wasn't the one to make noise in the first place."

“Huh? What do you mean?" Tsumugi tilts her head to the side. 

“I mean, Ouma is pretty loud," Ryoma says. "Although, I guess in this case, there was something louder-"

“Ah!” Monophanie jumps up and down.

“They’re trying to talk about it!” Monotaro yells.

“Pops clearly stated that you both had to keep your mouths shut!” Monosuke shakes his head.

Monokid’s eyes light up. “Does that mean we get to bring them out?”

“Them?” Tenko shakes.

“I dunno,” Monotaro admits. “Did they break the rules?”

“Not really,” the pink bear says.

“No-rules-were-broken,” Monodam confirms. “However-father-strictly-said-that-the-two-of-you-need-to-not-speak-about-that. Please-leave.”

“Huh?” Kokichi’s eyes fill with tears. “I have no idea what you’re on about!”

Ryoma grunts and grabs Kokichi’s shoulder. “C’mon. Better listen to them before they do anything.”

The two of them leave the room, followed by Monosuke and Monokid who are close by their heels.

“What was that about?” Kaito raises an eyebrow.

“I think they were trying to hint at something,” Shuichi says, shifting his eyes over at the remaining three bears. “Although…”

“Maybe we should keep quiet,” Rantaro suddenly cuts in.

“H-Huh?”

Rantaro turns away, closing his eyes. “If we start to discuss things, I think we’ll all get into trouble. Wait until the class trial.”

“But-” Kaede is cut off by the sound of a bell.

\---

They all stand at their podiums. Everyone silently looks at Kiibo’s portrait which is a pale grey and shows his neutral face. A red triangle is drawn around his head and an exclamation mark across his face.

“What the hell is that?” Kaito yells, pointing at the portrait angrily. “I thought-”

“Hey!” Monokuma snaps, throwing a wooden hammer across the room, barely missing Kaito. “No talking until I say so! Now then,” Monokuma clears his throat. “Let’s begin with a basic explanation of a class trial!”

Everyone decides that for their own safety, they should remain quiet throughout Monokuma’s explanation, which actually proves to be rather helpful in a sickening sort of way.

“Now let's get this awesome crazy, awesome-crazy trial underway!”

There’s something off with Monokuma’s way of speaking, Rantaro notes. He glances around at the rest of the group.

“Um.”

“Yes, Amami? What is it?” Monokuma asks. He sounds like he already knows what Rantaro is about to say.

“Where’s Gokuhara and Iruma?”

“Oh! That’s easy!” Monokuma says. “They both will not be participating in this trial!”

“And why is that?” Kirumi asks.

“There may have been an accident,” Monokuma reveals easily. “So I was kind enough to let both of them off the hook this time since they will not be able to participate in the trial!”

“Huh? Are they okay?” Tsumugi worriedly looks up at the bear.

Monokuma waves his paw around. “Yeah, yeah. Don’t worry about it. There’s always time for a little rule bending early on.”

Early on? What does Monokuma mean by that?

“So I guess we should start without them then?” Tenko says uncertainly.

“Yep!” Kokichi announces. “We don’t need them anyway! I’m about to finish this class trial anyway!”

Rantaro almost misses Monokuma’s expression turn angry for a split second before morphing back into his usual grin. “Oh?”

“Yeah! Geez, I don’t even know why we have to have this trial anyway,” Kokichi pouts.

Maki sighs. “Well, get on with it then.”

“Fine, fine!” Kokichi pauses. “Kiibo’s the killer!”

“Huh?” Himiko shakes her head. “But Kiibo’s the victim.”

“Yeah, check your facts, you degenerate!” Tenko glares.

Kokichi’s smile doesn’t let up. “You can be both the killer and the victim. It just means that poor Kiiboy killed himself.”

“You mean this was a suicide?” Kirumi questions, a hint of distress in her voice. 

“Can’t think of any other explanation,” Ryoma says.

“Really?” Kaito sounds conflicted, eyes roaming around the room.

“Geez! It’s like you all want to have someone else killed!” Kokichi smirks. “You all really want this game, huh?”

“Ouma,” Kaede slams her fist down on her podium. “Just tell us what you know.”

“Ah! Akamatsu is scary when she’s angry!”

Ryoma heaves yet another sigh. “It’s fine. I’ll explain. I was in my room, waiting for the time limit to run out. I think I was ready to fall asleep then there was this loud bang. I’m not sure if anyone else around the academy heard it but I think if you were in the dormitories, you’d be able to. I left my room the same time Ouma did so I guess we can be each other’s alibis.”

“Wow! I knew you cared about me!” Kokichi bounces.

Rolling his eyes, Ryoma continues. “We couldn’t exactly pinpoint where the bang came from but we were pretty sure it was on of the bedrooms. We tried a few bedroom doors, mostly the boys side but all of them were locked apart from Kiibo’s. We found him on his bedroom floor. His eyes were full of static but then he just...turned off I guess. He wouldn’t respond to anything and I’m not really a robot’s expert so…”

“Is that everything?” Korekiyo questions. He seems surprised. “I thought there would be...more.”

“That’s everything! Just Kiiboy being inconsiderate as usual and waking me up from my nap!”

The trial room goes quiet. 

“Well, I guess I couldn’t expect anything different.”

Monokuma sadly looks down at his own podium. 

“Ouma and Hoshi are right, Kiibo is both the killer and victim in this case.”

“Oh...poor Kiibo,” Tsumugi sniffs.

“Tsk, damn it,” Kaito angrily huffs, “if only he waited just a little longer.”

“So, is that it?” Maki asks. “The trial is over?”

Monokuma remains quiet again.

“Huh? Is daddy broken?” Monophanie pales.

“Father! Father!” Monotaro yells.

“...the trial is over when I say it’s over!” Monokuma announces. 

“What a pain,” Himiko groans. 

“Yeah! What’s the point of dragging the trial out longer if we know what happened?” Tenko demands.

Monokuma shakes his head. “We haven’t solved all the mysteries! I won’t let anyone else leave this trial unless all is revealed!”

“All?” Kirumi repeats.

“Did something else happen?” Korekiyo muses. “How intriguing.”

“Now, it would be rather boring if a trial ended so quickly!” Monokuma gleefully laughs. 

“So, what’s this mystery we need to find out?” Kokichi asks, eyes shining playfully.

Rantaro feels his stomach drop and from the look of Kaede’s face, maybe she’s realised what Monokuma wants them to find out. The only question is why would Monokuma want to reveal what had happened in the library? Rantaro feels his palms sweat. He feels sick.

“Well, that’s for all of you to figure you!” Monokuma answers, leaning back. “It would be boring just to end the trial now!”

“So, does anyone know where to start?” Tsumugi looks around, pushing her glasses up.

“I think it would be best if we all gave out our alibis for the day,” Kirumi says, pointing a finger up. “In that case, we can figure out what everyone was doing today and perhaps figure out what Monokuma wants us to know.”

“Well, I’ve already said my bit,” Ryoma responds. “I was in my room.” 

“And so was I!” Kokichi jumps in.

“All day?” Korekiyo raises an eyebrow.

“I had nothing else better to do,” Kokichi shrugs.

Ryoma nods in agreement.

“I was looking for people most of the day!” Kaito pounds his fists together. “I was going to make a group of people to fight against Monokuma!”

“You spent all day doing that?” Korekiyo asks. 

“Yeah, well,” Kaito scratches the back of his head. “It was really hard to convince some people.”

“You degenerate!” Tenko pipes up. “You were acting all suspicious when you were asking me to join your group! Of course I wasn’t going to agree straight away!”

“I think it took Momota so long because you kept running off,” Himiko yawns.

Tenko growls in Kaito’s direction. “He was trying to kidnap Yumeno!”

“I was not!” Kaito sweats. “I needed her for my group!”

“And? Did you get her in the end?” Kirumi questions.

Tenko nods. “I only let her join in agreement I got to stay by her side the entire time! Also, I got to handle the girls! Momota had to deal with the silly boys.”

“So? Who was in your group?” Kirumi continues.

“Let’s see,” Kaito hums. “There was me, Amami, Gokuhara…”

“Stop right there! I’m the one who sorted out the girls!” Tenko cries. “There was me, Yumeno, Yonaga and Harukawa!”

“So seven of you in total?” Korekiyo confirms.

“Yes, yes! Atua can confirm that!” Angie smiles. 

“Did any of you happen to see Kiibo when you were out looking?” Tsumugi hugs herself. 

“I can’t really remember,” Kaito admits.

“No,” Maki states bluntly.

“Atua says he couldn’t spot him! It was his naptime, you see,” Angie replies. 

“I was too busy with Chabashira,” Himiko drawls.

“I can agree with that!” Tenko nods.

Rantaro shakes his head. “Sorry, the only time I saw Kiibo today was during breakfast.”

“And Gokuhara isn’t here to say what he saw…” Tsumugi plainly states. “Oh…”

“Were any of you in the dormitories throughout the day?” Kirumi asks. 

“I was in mine until Momota got me,” Maki says glumly. “So I was only in there for the morning.”

“Yeah, I was in throughout the morning and a little of the early afternoon to get people,” Kaito says. 

“Atua wanted to nap in the sun so I was outside most of the day!” Angie clasps her hands together with a smile.

“I think I spent most of my time in the dining room,” Tsumugi responds.

Kirumi nods. “I can confirm that. I too spent most of the day in the dining room as I was preparing for what I thought was going to be our final meal.”

“I was in my room up until the late afternoon. However, I spent the rest of the time in the dining room so I could have my final meal,” Korekiyo crosses his arms. “I was sat next to Iruma if I remember.”

“Akamatsu and I were together for the majority of the day,” Shuichi finally chimes in, his voice small.

“Y-Yeah,” Kaede agrees. “I don’t think we went back to our dorms after we had finished breakfast.” 

Rantaro puts one hand down onto his podium. “I spent some time in my bedroom before Momota got me.”

“Yaaaawn! This is all interesting and all but,” Kokichi puts his hands behind his head with a smile. “Can we talk about something interesting?”

“Interesting?” Tsumugi echos.

“Yeah, I mean, we’re trying to figure out a mystery! Not figure out who was in their dorm rooms when!” Kokichi continues. “We’re going waaaay off topic. Unless...Tojo! Was that your intention?!”

Kirumi flushes. “I am sorry everyone, I was just trying to figure out what everyone was doing throughout the day. Please don’t think I’m trying to hide something.”

Kaito grins. “Don’t worry! We understand! Just ignore that little shit, he’s just trying to piss everyone off.”

“Eh? I am?” Kokichi pouts. 

Kaito ignores him. “So where were we-”

“If I may,” Korekiyo cuts in. “Whilst the dormitory situation was rather slow, there was something…off.”

“Off?” Himiko murmurs. 

“Yes,” Korekiyo nods. “I found that there was an alibi or two I found rather...weak.”

“You did?” Ryoma pulls on his hat. “Whose?”

“I think I know,” Rantaro says, putting his hands on his hips.

Korekiyo closes his eyes. “I see. Very well, Amami, you may continue.”

Rantaro nods. “The majority of you told everyone where you were throughout the day, whether it was in the dormitories or not. However...Saihara and Akamatsu stated that they were together most of the day and didn’t tell us where they were or what they were doing.”

Everyone turns to look at the two and Rantaro feels the smallest amount of guilt when he sees Shuichi tug his hat over his eyes more and Kaede curl into herself. However, he has a strange feeling about the two and he knows that they’ve done something. 

“Now that you mention it,” Tsumugi looks to the side.

“Atua has spoken! He has said he wants to know what they were up to!” Angie exclaims. 

“W-Well,” Kaede trembles. Her head is down, her hair hiding her face. “First we...headed to the library after we finished breakfast.”

“The library? Oh, don’t tell me you both did it in there!” Kokichi gasps.

“It?” Tenko bristles.

“Ouma, quit screwing around!” Kaito yells.

Kaede shakes her head. “Then…”

“We headed to the classroom,” Shuichi says. “It’s okay, Akamatsu.”

“H-Huh?” Kaede looks surprised.

“I think we can reveal my theory,” he says softly.

Kaede blinks, as if she expected him to reveal something else. 

“Your theory?” Ryoma looks interested.

Shuichi nods, though he still covers his eyes with his hat. “A couple of days ago I found a hidden passage in the library. Though when I found it...I wasn’t sure if I could trust anyone with what I found. When I found the room I knew it must be a secret room, why else would it be hidden behind the door?”

“You found a door?” Kirumi interrogates. Even she looks rather curious.

Shuichi nods. “I’m sorry everyone but the only person I trusted with this information was Akamatsu. My theory was that perhaps there is a mastermind controlling Monokuma and orchestrating this killing game. Why else would there be a hidden room? It’s not even on the map on our monopads. The door also showed some sign of use. I had put some dust in the card reader and when I checked on it the next day, the dust was gone, suggesting the door had been used.”

“How interesting,” Korekiyo says. “So, only you and Akamatsu knew about the door?”

“I-I think so,” Shuichi replies nervously. 

“W-Wait,” Kaede cuts in, “also the mastermind!”

“But we don’t know who the mastermind is,” Kaito shakes his head.

"Or if there is one," Tsumugi adds. 

“Well…” Kaede takes a deep breath. “I think...I know who it is if there is one!”

“H-huh?” Tenko throws her hands up in surprise. “You know who it is!”

“Yes.” Kaede stands up straight, tucking her hair behind her ears.

She’s looking directly at Rantaro.

There’s no backing out now. “You think that I’m the mastermind?” Rantaro asks incredulously. 

He can hear the others murmur around him. Hell, even Shuichi looks surprised. 

“What other reason would you have to be down in the library?” Kaede pushes, determined. “There’s only one way into the secret room and you were there. What other reason would you be down the library so close to when the time limit was going to run out?”

Rantaro sweats. He knows Kaede has a good reason to question him. Yet… She’s got it all wrong. He isn’t the mastermind, he has to prove it. Though the truth would make him even more suspicious. He can’t tell them about the secret message and map on his monopad, he’d have no chance to gain the trust of anyone if he did. Besides, he still doesn’t know who to trust anymore with the monopad and the information he has. 

So, the only other option he has is…

“I had found the door earlier by accident,” Rantaro lies.

The room goes quiet.

Kaede's eyes narrow. "I'm sorry but that isn't a good enough excuse." 

“Isn’t it a little suspicious how two people were able to find the secret room entrance?” Korekiyo hums. “Now Saihara, I understand. He is a detective. But you?”

“Yeah! I bet you’re lying, you degenerate!” Tenko cries.

“Atua says something doesn’t sound right,” Angie agrees.

“You were supposed to be with our group, man,” Kaito says. “Is that why you left so abruptly? So you could go to the library? I thought you were going to the bathroom.”

“I lied,” Rantaro tells him, rubbing his head, “sorry.”

“That’s awfully suspicious,” Himiko glowers at him from under her hat.

“I think Amami has his own reasons for going in the library!” Kokichi leans forwards excitedly. “Besides, he didn’t get into the room, did he?”

“W-Well, that’s not important right now! I want to know how he knew the door was there!” Kaede retorts. “Until I know, I stand by what I said!”

Rantaro can feel his chest tighten. He has no idea how to respond to that. How did Shuichi even notice in the first place? How-

“He noticed how the books on top of the shelf were organised. Isn’t that right, Amami?”

Rantaro stares at Shuichi in bewilderment. What is he doing?

“He did?” Kirumi looks at the talentless student with narrowed eyes.

It was now or never. “Y-Yeah, that’s how I noticed.” How were the books even organised anyway?

Shuichi nods. “I see. I also thought it was strange how there was a lack of books on top of the shelf. I’m surprised you also noticed, Amami. You must have a good eye.”

Rantaro feels himself blush. “Y-Yeah, I guess I should’ve told someone…”

“Wow! I can’t believe that Amami is innocent again!” Kokichi cries happily. “Good thing Saihara spoke up for you! Who knows what would've happened otherwise!”

“W-Well,” Shuichi tugs on his hat. “It was as you said. Amami never got into the room. He must’ve only known how to get to the door but not be able to get in.”

“So that means Amami isn’t the mastermind?” Kaito asks. He looks rather relieved. “Hah! I knew I could believe in you!”

“Thank you?”

“But!” Kaede slams her hands on the podium. Her eyes are wide and her body is trembling. “If he’s not the mastermind then why was he in the library!”

“I wanted to stop the killing game, just like everyone else,” Rantaro answers easily. “I thought if I could get into the room before the time limit was up, I could confront the mastermind. Surely they’d be in the room before the time limit ran out.”

"Why didn't you tell anyone about the door?" Kaede quickly asks. Rantaro can tell she's starting to crack.

"If I'm correct, you and Saihara never told anyone about the door either," Rantaro responds with ease. "It isn't that difficult to believe I'd keep it a secret too." 

"So earlier, when you said you were going to fix everything," Ryoma murmurs, "you were going to open the secret door?" 

Rantaro nods. "That was the plan. I didn't know there was a lock on it...the first time I actually checked the door was just tonight. I guess I should've checked it earlier. Then we would've avoided this." 

Kaede shakes her head. "B-But, you have to be the mastermind!" 

"Eh, does he?" Kokichi's face twists slightly. "Why is that, Akamatsu?" 

"Because if he's not..." Kaede's face scrunches up, cheeks going red. "Because..." 

“Is there something wrong, Akamatsu?” Tenko asks.

“You have been acting rather strangely,” Kirumi adds.

“And desperate to say Amami is the mastermind!” Kokichi contributes. His face goes blank, before it turns into something dark, a large sneer emerging. “Is there a reason for that, Akamatsu?”

“Hey, what are you suggesting?” Kaito snaps. “She’s just trying to help!”

“She is pushing rather hard for Amami to be the mastermind,” Tsumugi says, “I wonder why?”

“Puhuhu. Puhuhuhuhu.”

“Hey! What the hell are you laughing at?” Kaito turns to Monokuma angrily, eyes blazing. 

“Akamatsu, are you okay?” Shuichi asks softly.

“I...I…”

“You...you...what?” Kokichi mocks.

Rantaro stares at the pianist.

“I’m...so sorry, Amami,” Kaede sniffles as tears start to run steadily down her face. “I’m so, so sorry.”

“Akamatsu, what’s wrong!” Tenko asks, alarmed. 

“I…” Kaede rubs her eyes. “I tried to...kill the mastermind.”

“You tried to kill the mastermind?” Maki questions, her eyebrows raising into her fringe. 

“But you don’t know who the mastermind is,” Korekiyo states. 

“Well, she thought she knew who the mastermind was,” Kokichi’s face has turned back to normal. “Isn’t that right, Amami?”

Rantaro opens and closes his mouth. There’s a small part of him that feels sick, that doesn’t want to throw Kaede under the bus. He understands a little more now. Understands what must've happened in the library. Understands why he was almost... 

However, he knows that Monokuma won’t let them leave unless he tells everyone what had happened in the library.

“I...was almost hit with a shot put ball,” Rantaro says quietly.

“Oh my,” Kirumi covers her mouth.

Shuichi looks startled as he quickly looks over the Kaede.

“I’m pretty sure the ball was supposed to hit me, I was lured over by a camera flash,” he continues, crossing his arms. “The flash went off as I was opening the bookcase door and when I went over the investigate, a ball landed next to me. If was any closer...I think I’d be dead.”

“Wow, that sounds scary,” Himiko yawns. “I’m glad it wasn’t me.”

Rantaro nods. “Then, Akamatsu, Saihara, Momota and Chabashira came in and I was pinned to the ground, though before anyone could really say much the body discovery announcement went off.”

“Wow! Saved by the announcement, huh?” Kokichi pipes up. “I wonder if Akamatsu had another ball ready to drop on your head.”

“Ouma!” Shuichi sounds alarmed.

“Maybe you got really lucky the alarm went off when it did. It’s strange though,” Kokichi hums. “The alarm only went off when two people saw the body and I thought it was supposed to be three?”

“T-There was a bit of a problem going on with technology around that time,” Monokuma quickly answers. “So I set the alarm off myself when I saw that the robot had been found.”

“I guess that makes sense,” Tsumugi mutters.

Monokuma sighs. “This trial is certainly different to all the others. I should’ve stopped as soon as we figured out the killer but…” Monokuma grins nastily. “I wanted all potential killers to be exposed.”

Kaede’s face is a light pink as she sweats. “Amami I’m…”

“Akamatsu, you tried to?” Tenko looks conflicted as she looks at the girl and then Rantaro. 

“Well, this is certainly a surprise,” Korekiyo’s eyes flutter shut. “I never would’ve thought Akamatsu out of all people.”

“Wasn’t she the one always going on about friendship and teamwork?” Maki mutters. “So much for that.”

“N-Now wait a minute!” Kaito loudly stutters. “Let’s stop and think for a moment!”

“Huh?” Kaede looks up at the purple astronaut.

“...” Rantaro silently eyes Kaito.

“I don’t think she wanted to kill someone to save her own skin!” Kaito continues. “It's obvious she was just getting rid of the mastermind!”

“By killing them?” Kirumi tilts her head. 

“Okay, maybe trying to kill them was a little dramatic but I don't think Akamatsu was intentionally trying to kill Amami! That's just what Monokuma wants us to think!” Kaito triumphantly announces, smashing his two fists together. 

Silence.

“Is this true, Akamatsu?” Tsumugi's face holds a sad expression as she looks at the blond.

Sniffling, Kaede nods without a word.

“Hah! I knew it!” Kaito beams. “I knew I could believe in you!”

“Huh?”

“Look, I know that you’re probably hating yourself right now but!” Kaito shakes his head with a small smile. “I think you only had the group at heart, right? You were selfless enough to risk your life for us all! If Monokuma is trying to make you look like a monster, well it’s not working!”

More silence.

“Momota?” Kokichi says. “Are you completely stupid?”

Kaito splutters. “What?”

“What about…” Kokichi’s tears are sudden and out of nowhere. “What about poor Amami! Are you trying to say it was okay for her to try kill him?”

“What? No! Of course not!” Kaito huffs. 

“You are letting her get away with a lot,” Maki scoffs.

“I wonder how Amami feels after telling his almost killer that she’s not in the wrong,” Korekiyo ponders out loud.

Rantaro furrows his brows, looking down. He honestly has no idea what to think right now. Kaede had all but admitted she had tried to kill him yet it wasn’t him he was after. She had made a huge mistake. Yet, some part of him wants justice for her actions but he knows the only justice he’d get is her own execution. 

He doesn’t trust many people here yet he doesn’t want any of them to die. Not even Kaede.

“I think,” Rantaro begins, “I think that what Akamatsu did was...very, very stupid.”

Kaede looks at him with sad eyes. He knows she’s sorry.

“But…” for now, he’ll just let his pride get bruised. He wants to be angry at her, he is angry at her but now isn’t the time for petty revenge. He wants to get everyone out alive and he won’t let Kiibo’s sacrifice be in vain. “I don’t think we should all hate her for it. She wasn’t going after me, she was going after the mastermind and made a mistake. No one got hurt for her actions, much.” He lightly feels the bruise growing on his cheek.

From the corner of his eye, he sees Kaito nod in his direction. 

“Oh, is that so?” Monokuma looks at him. “Oh my, this is certainly a surprise.”

“Yeah, suck it, Monokuma!” Kaito grins. “You aren't going to tear this group apart so easily!”

“So this is the reason why Monokuma continued this trial,” Kirumi says, “he wanted us to know what Akamatsu had done.”

“And instead of hating her,” Maki cuts in suddenly, “we’re all acting like she’s some hero.”

“Come on, Harukawa,” Kaito sighs. “Monokuma wants us to argue about this. It’s a point for us if we don’t let him get his way! Even Amami agrees!”

Maki glares as her lips get thin, though she stops talking. 

Monokuma pouts. “Well this is certainly boring.”

“Father? What do we do now?” Monotaro chirps worriedly.

“There’s nothing else to discuss!” Monosuke tells him. “I guess the trial...is over?”

“Yeah, yeah,” Monokuma moans sadly. “Geez, so much for drama. Well, I guess we still need to do voting time.”

Voting time flies by, with everyone voting for Kiibo.

“I feel like we haven’t really given enough credit to Kiibo,” Tsumugi admits as she steps away from her podium.

“Yeah, it’s only thanks to him we all get to keep living!” Kaito agrees. He's smiling but he still looks a little put off.

“I guess he was good for something in the end…” Kokichi smirks as everyone shoots him annoyed looks. 

Kirumi frowns and looks over to the elevator. “It seems many sad events have happened tonight. I also really want to check up on Gokuhara and Iruma. I’m worried about them.”

“Ah! That’s right!” Angie nods rapidly. “I almost forgot!”

One by one, everyone gets onto the elevator. Rantaro stands by himself in the corner. He spots Kaede standing in her own corner besides Shuichi, who only stands next to her although his body is strangely turned to the side away from her. Rantaro raises an eyebrow. What’s going on between the two of them?

That reminds him. He needs to thank Shuichi later on for helping him in the trial. Although Rantaro is confused why the detective decided to help him, he is thankful for his help. He wonders. Could Shuichi be someone he can trust?

The elevator stops when they arrive to the top and everyone gets out slowly.

“Is Amami going straight to bed?”

Kokichi walks next to Rantaro as he heads to the dormitories.

Rantaro nods. “I think...I need to get some sleep.”

“Okay! Me too! I’m reaaally tired!” Kokichi tells him. “Make sure to keep your door locked! Don’t want any shot put balls dropping onto your head whilst you sleep!”

Kokichi smiles brightly at him and gives him a little wave before closing his own bedroom door. Rantaro doesn't hear the leader's door lock click. He worries momentarily but he has a feeling nothing bad will happen tonight.

Rantaro decides that he'll figure out his next course of action tomorrow. Right now, he's too tired to think. His stomach is also in too many knots to think of any logical plans right now. He doesn't want his anxiety to take over and ruin any plans his makes. For now, he'll sleep in the safe confinements of his bedroom. No one will hurt him tonight. 

Slipping into his room, Rantaro locks his door with a click and falls asleep as soon as his head hits the pillow, dreaming of shot put balls and a piano playing a song completely wrong.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi! I got this idea for this fic about maybe a year ago but only started planning it properly a couple months ago. I've been shying away from writing this for a while due to how big of a fic it'll probably turn out to be and that I've rewritten the first chapter at least over four times. Rantaro really isn't an easy character to write or keep alive. I was inspired to write this after reading the rewrites where Kaede survived and was like hey, I really like Rantaro so why don't I write a fic where he lives?
> 
> I can't guarantee a quick update since I'll start to be busy soon with other personal things and the fact I'll only publish when I have a rough draft of the next chapter. However, I really hope you've all enjoyed the first chapter! I'm sorry if there is any inconsistencies or if something isn't right. I've been re-watching the game and checking the wiki over and over. I've also realized Rantaro is not the easiest character to write due to not having much information on him about the others and when you get down to it, I struggled greatly when it came to what he knew about the game and all his secrets. I've done my best to work with what I've got and I hope it's good enough!
> 
> Also poor Kiibo :,) I really didn't want to kill him off so soon but someone had to take Rantaro's place :,)))


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry, I edited this chapter on my phone so if anything is wrong :,)
> 
> Also, you've probably noticed a lot of things have changed in this chapter. I'm not gonna lie, I was half way through writing when I realised that the mm probably now knows about Rantaro's perk but I think I've figured how to work that into the story :)))
> 
> (Also maybe you've noticed that Kokichi is getting a lot of spotlight. From what the game has told us, I think him and Rantaro had a good relationship so there's probably going to be a lot of interactions between them two like it had been with Kaede and Shuichi!)
> 
> Thanks for reading!!

Knock! Knock! Knock!

…

Knockknockknockknockknockknockknockknockknockknockknock!

Rantaro awakes with a pounding head and a pounding door that shakes ever so slightly on its hinges. He jolts up and stares at the door and for a moment he thinks this is it, this is how he dies.

“Hey! Amami! You awake yet?”

Momota..?

He drags himself over to the door and only when he starts to open in, the consistent knocking stops. Kaito stands obliviously at his door, grinning and showing his white teeth.

“Hey man, hope I didn’t wake you,” Kaito says, stepping into the room. He seems calm enough and looks completely unaffected by yesterday’s events. Rantaro doesn’t know whether to be worried or not. Then again, Kaito is a rather strange person though his optimism is a rather welcome change. 

“It’s okay,” Rantaro blinks with bleary eyes. 

Kaito seems happy enough with his response, or he just doesn’t listen as he lets out a startling laugh, well more like giggle even though Kaito looks like the sort of person who would deny doing anything of the sort. “Well, good! Uh…”

The astronaut’s hesitation is rather surprising. Rantaro crosses his arms and puts his head to the side. “Is everything okay, Momota?”

“Huh?” Kaito’s eyes widen. “Of course! I just thought, well...I came to check in on you! Yeah! That’s it.” He zeros in on the bruise that’s steadily growing on the side of Rantaro’s face. “Chabashira really did a number on your face…”

“It hurts a little, I guess,” Rantaro responds. Why does it feel like Kaito had meant to say something else? Though, when it really comes down to it, Rantaro supposes it doesn’t really matter too much. 

Kaito looks at him, stunned. “Well, yeah! Of course it would hurt. You should probably ask Tojo where the ice is kept or something.”

“Yeah…” Rantaro trails off. Now he really has no idea why Kaito decided to wake him up. Actually, how has no one started to complain about Kaito’s loud knocking? “Wait, what time is it, Momota?”

“Huh? Like, pretty early I guess?” Kaito glances out from Rantaro’s door, seeing the morning sky that’s currently a warm orange that melts into purple. “Why?”

“Why did you wake me up this early?”

“Oh, uh…” At least Kaito looks sheepish now. “I couldn’t really stop thinking about yesterday, you know?”

He couldn’t stop thinking about yesterday? “I guess that makes sense…”

“Yesterday was pretty scary, huh?” Kaito grins, but it doesn’t feel as reassuring as it should be. “At least we have more time now to figure out what to do!”

“Yeah…” Rantaro thinks back to Kiibo, back to how unresponsive he was, back to blowing himself up and hurting Miu’s eyes. “Though I wish…”

“Yeah, I getcha, man.” Kaito crosses his arms. “Stupid fucking bear. Why was he so desperate for us all to play anyway?”

Rantaro frowns. That is a good question. Though in all honesty, he doesn’t think he knows the answer. All that he knows is that there is a mastermind and that he can’t trust anyone with the information he has.

Yet. Maybe…

“He pushed us all too far!” Kaito continues, huffing. “I mean, you almost died!”

“Ah…” That’s right. Library. Shot put ball. Kaede.

“Honestly,” Kaito shakes his head. “Though I guess…”

Rantaro’s ears perk. “You guess?”

At least Kaito looks a little guilty when he opens his mouth. “Should we really put as much blame on Akamatsu as Monokuma wants us to?”

“...”

Kaito sweats. “Listen man. I know that she tried to kill you and all but can you really blame her?”

“...”

“I spent all night thinking it over and, well, it’s obvious Monokuma is just trying to make us all suspect each other!” Kaito stomps his foot. “And yeah, what Akamatsu did was really stupid but I think she had good intentions.”

“...”

Kaito sweats. “Q-Quit being quiet man.”

“I don’t know how to respond to you,” Rantaro cooly says. He can’t even look at the astronaut in the eyes. 

“Oh,” Kaito deflates. “But seriously, are you angry at Akamatsu?”

Rantaro stays silent for a moment. “I don’t know.”

Of course he’s angry at Akamatsu. She almost got himself killed. She almost got herself killed. She did something impulsive and almost got the wrong person killed. Yet…

“I don’t think she’s the cold blooded killer that Monokuma wants us to think she is,” Kaito announces. “I know she almost killed you but…”

“But?”

“I believe in her!”

Rantaro is speechless. Kaito believes in her. What does he even mean by that?

“Why are you telling me this?”

“Huh?” Kaito looks at Rantaro like he’s stupid. “Well, I dunno. You probably don’t really like or trust her must, right? I just don’t want our group to fall apart. Monokuma wants that and…”

There’s a small part of Rantaro that understands. Since there was no actual murder yesterday, Monokuma instead decided to try and split the group up. He probably wants them all to distrust each other and if that becomes the case, there’s probably a higher chance of them…

“Well, it’s your choice, anyway,” Kaito says lightly. “Anyway! I’m hungry! I’m pretty sure I saw Tojo heading towards the academy earlier. Maybe she’s made breakfast?”

With that, Kaito waves goodbye before eagerly running out of Rantaro’s room, leaving him to stare at the door silently and listen to his own, arguing thoughts.

\---

Rantaro heads towards the academy on his own after he took a shower and put on fresh clothes. It’s...strange. He feels like the sun shouldn’t be shining through the glass wall that contains them. It feels way too ordinary.

“Ah! Amami!”

Angie happily skips towards Rantaro, her yellow raincoat bouncing with each leap. The artist looks rather relaxed, despite everything, though Amami can see the slight shadows under both of her eyes.

“What a beautiful morning! Atua surely has blessed us today!”

“Hmm,” Rantaro nods in agreement. “It’s a shame we can’t actually feel the sun though, just look at it.”

Angie smiles, clasping her hands behind her back. “Silly! We are being protected from being burnt! Surely that is a blessing in disguise?”

“I guess?”

Angie’s warm eyes look at him easily. “Did Amami manage to sleep well? I’ll be sure to ask Atua to help you next time you find yourself awake.”

“Uh…”

“Oh! And Atua says he is very sorry about yesterday,” Angie says nonchalantly, “he only looked away for one moment before he noticed what was going on in the library!”

“I, uh, forgive him?”

She giggles. “Wonderful! Now, come! To the dining hall!”

She cheerfully drags him towards the academy and for one moment, Rantaro is glad for the distraction from the killing game. He doesn’t understand how Angie can be so happy at times like this but at least it’s a refreshing change.

She knocks back the dining room doors and finally lets go of his hand when she spots Tenko and Himiko sitting at the corner of the table. Tenko’s cheeks are a hot pink as she watches Himiko shovel rice into her mouth. 

He spots Kirumi dashing in and out of the kitchen with plates and bowls and he envies how she manages to not even knock a single hair out of place as she does so. When she spots him, she offers him the briefest of smiles before speeding off. 

Kaito is also sitting at the table, talking to Ryoma, who doesn’t seem like he’s listening and is more interested in drinking his drink. Either Kaito doesn’t care that he is not being listened to or hasn’t noticed. Rantaro thinks it’s the latter. 

“Eh? Has Amami found a beloved!”

Kokichi grins mischievously as he jumps in front of Rantaro. His hair is still as wild as ever, curling out in all different directions. His face also looks no different and Rantaro thinks that maybe Kokichi managed to sleep throughout the entire night and feels a stab of jealousy. Then again, maybe he’s just jumping to conclusions. 

“Good morning, Ouma,” he says.

“What? You’re just going to ignore my question?” Kokichi’s face crumples. “Well, that’s okay. I’m over it. I’m just glad that you didn’t get your head caved in last night!”

“...Thanks?”

“No problem, Amami!” Kokichi seems to be in an awfully good mood. “I’m just glad that there’s one less robot around here! You have to be careful around them, you know? You never know what their intentions are…”

Rantaro frowns. “Isn’t that a little rude to say? Especially after yesterday.”

Kokichi doesn’t seem to care. “I’m not too particularly fussed though if you’re gonna make a big deal out of it...”

The two of them quietly head towards the dining table, though Kokichi suddenly decides to make a big fuss about where to sit and refuses to sit in between two people.

“I need to make enough room for Saihara! I have things I need to ask him!” he announces to the table, though no one really seems to be listening. Not even Rantaro, who sips quietly on his tea.

More people finally show up, which Rantaro is thankful for since he was afraid that everyone would decide not to show up today after yesterday’s events.

Korekiyo and Tsumugi enter together, the latter’s eyes lighting up when she spots Rantaro and takes a seat next to him.

Maki stalks in on her own and wordlessly takes a seat next to Angie, who doesn’t seem to be fazed by the brunette’s silence. 

Gonta arrives with Miu, who grips his arm like a vice but makes as much noise as possible when she comes in.

“What’s up, fuckers? Guess who is finally back!” She cooes to absolutely no one. 

“Huh? Did you hear something?” Kokichi asks Rantaro. He shakes his head and sighs.

“Good morning, Iruma,” Rantaro says. He notices her squirm before Gonta takes her to a seat next to Ryoma. He wonders if she can actually see. She’s wearing the goggles that are usually resting on her head. 

Everyone is chattering when the door opens again. Kaede walks into the room and it falls quiet. The pianist awkwardly looks at the group and notices their faces before looking at the floor.

“Good morning, everyone…” she says softly, barely above a whisper. 

Everyone continues to look at her.

“Huh? Saihara isn’t with you?” Kokichi suddenly asks, tilting his head. His eyes widen and then there’s tears. “D-Don’t tell me you k-killed him!?”

The majority of the table looks alarmed at Kokichi’s statement, enough so that some of them start to look around, only now noticing the lack of Shuichi in the room. Even Kaede looks startled, though Rantaro doesn’t know whether to pair that with the fact Kokichi had just accused her of murder or the fact she herself doesn’t know where the detective is.

“He’s not here?” Kaede asks weakly and scans the room whilst holding her arm. She seems a lot less confident now knowing that the person she considers her best friend right now isn’t here. 

“Maybe he still sleeping?” Gonta suggests. “Gonta go and wake him up! You can’t miss breakfast! It most important meal of the day!”

Gonta hurries out of the room, closing the door behind him rather loudly. Kaede flinches at the crash. 

“Don’t worry, Akamatsu,” Kaito grins, “he’s probably still asleep.”

“Yeah…” 

Tsumugi tugs on his sleeve. She’s been rather quiet whilst sitting next to him, delicately nibbling on a buttered piece of toast. “Are you okay, Amami?”

“Huh? Why wouldn’t I be?”

“Well...she’s here,” Tsumugi quietly responds, her eyes flickering over to Kaede. 

Tsumugi does have a point. Rantaro did feel rather sick when he noticed Kaede enter the room, though he doesn’t know the reason why. Perhaps it was because of what Kaito said this morning or the fact that he’s still sore about yesterday’s events. 

Perhaps Kaede overhead Tsumugi’s comment because she manages to look even more miserable as she flounders between the table and the doors. 

“Hey, Akamatsu! Tenko saved you a seat so you don’t have to sit with any degenerates!” Tenko calls, pulling a chair out from the table and letting it scrape across the floor. Kaede silently scurries towards it and sits herself down.

“Eh? Why would you want a killer sitting next to you?” Kokichi smiles as he says this. “You wouldn’t want your precious Yumeno getting hurt now.”

Tenko goes red. “Shut up, degenerate! You have no right to judge anyone!”

“Atua says she is safe to sit with!” Angie cheers, bobbing her head side to side. Maki frowns and ducks out of the way. 

“Doesn’t mean that we can’t be wary of her,” Maki murmurs, scooting away from Angie until her chair hits into Kaito’s. When she notices this, her cheeks flash a sudden red before she composes herself angrily. 

“She is correct,” Korekiyo nods. “We can’t just give her the benefit of the doubt now, can we?”

“Wait, what the hell are you all on about?” Miu asks, slamming her hand onto the table. Her head is pointed towards a random bit in the room, between the door to the dining hall and the door to the kitchen.

“Did Monokuma not tell you?” Tsumugi asks, looking surprised.

“Tell me what?” Miu screeches as Kirumi takes a seat next to her.

“That Akamatsu tried to kill Amami yesterday!” Kokichi announces loudly. Kaede winces at the words ‘kill’ and ducks her head down so that her golden hair curtains her face. “And she probably killed Saihara this morning!”

“No she didn’t!” Kaito yells from across the table. “Stop trying to make shit up!”

“Well she definitely did try to kill Amami yesterday!” Kokichi confirms. 

Kaito merely shakes his head and leans back in his chair, suddenly looking exhausted. 

“She what?!” Miu howls, shaking. Kirumi holds onto her hand softly in comfort. She also sends Rantaro a soft, apologetic look. 

All eyes are on him at this point. He sighs. It’s not like he can lie and say that she hadn’t, Monokuma had already told them all. “It's...rather complicated. However, there was an attempt."

“What the fuck?” Miu huffs. “Why the hell would you do that, Bakamatsu?”

Kaede shuffles in her seat, still refusing to look anyone in the eye.

“Silence just makes you look more guilty,” Korekiyo supplies. He looks like he’s enjoying this a little too much.

“Hey! Degenerate! Stop pushing her before I have to use my neo-aikido on you!” Tenko yells angrily. 

“Stop shouting,” Himiko murmurs as she eats another spoonful of food. 

“Well he does have a point,” Maki says, earning a betrayed look from Tenko. 

“Oh dear,” Tsumugi whispers, looking visibly upset. 

Rantaro sighs and looks down at his food, poking it around. He’s lost his appetite all of a sudden, though saying that he had one in the first place may be a bit of a stretch. Should he step in and stop the arguing? 

“Jeez, you’re all so horrible bringing up yesterday. You’re all upsetting poor Amami!” Kokichi calls out, looking distraught for some reason. 

The room explodes into chaos.

“Why the hell are you blaming us when it was you who brought it up!” Kaito roars from across the table.

Tenko pulls Himiko into her side, an arm wrapped tightly around her shoulders as the magician pulls her bowl onto her lap and continues to eat. Angie happily bobs from side to side next to them, seemingly not caring about what’s going on. 

Maki lets out a loud sigh of disgust and leans back in her chair, moodily glaring at people randomly. 

Miu might be the culprit for being the loudest person, screaming at every slight noise and movement all the while declaring that why the hell should she trust anyone anymore here. Next to her, Kirumi’s eyebrows furrow in worry as a plate of food is thrown across the room and splatters onto the wall. 

Rantaro rests his head on the table whilst Tsumugi helplessly looks down at him.

“I-I can’t believe M-Momota is blaming m-me!” Kokichi wails loudly, plenty of tears streaming down his cheeks. “I wasn’t the one w-who tried to kill Amami!”

“You accused Akamatsu of killing Saihara when she didn’t though!” Kaito retaliates, standing up and knocking his chair over. “Stop trying to cause trouble! We have plenty of it as it is without you trying to get everyone to turn on each other!”

“Turn on each other?” Kokichi’s face goes blank. “I’m not trying to get everyone to turn on each other. I was just pointing out a threat.”

“Threat?” Kaede weakly asks, finally lifting her head up to reveal her watery eyes.

“How can Akamatsu be a threat?!” Tenko shouts, looking almost ready to pull her into her arms too.

“Well, she did try to kill someone,” Ryoma supplies lowly.

“How can you talk? You’ve killed before!” Tenko retorts with narrowed eyes.

Ryoma pulls at his hat with a tired sighs. 

“Isn’t it a little unfair to be wary of Akamatsu but not at Hoshi despite his past?” Kirumi helpfully supplies. 

“See! Thank you!” Kaito huffs.

Kokichi looks startled. “Mother? How could you betray me like that?”

“Mother..?” Kirumi blinks.

Rantaro is thankful for the distraction that is Gonta, who slams the doors open. Behind him, Shuichi slips into the room quietly, tugging his hat over his messy hair.

“You’re alive!” Kokichi cries from across the room. “Everyone who said Akamatsu killed Saihara better apologise!”

Kaito faces turns from red to purple.

At least Shuichi speaks before Kaito can start yelling again. “Huh?”

“It was horrible!” Kokichi wails, leaning heavily onto Rantaro’s arm. “They all just ganged up on her! They insisted that she killed you! It was scary to watch! Momota was ready to beat her up!”

Shuichi obviously does not believe Kokichi’s tall tale as he takes his seat at the table, sighing when the smaller male latches onto his arm instead of Rantaro’s and starts to talk his ear off. 

“Uh, why room such a mess?” Gonta blinks. “Gonta knows room was clean before! Gonta has 20/0.625 vision!”

“That’s impressive!” Tsumugi looks at him in awe.

Gonta blushes. “I-It nothing much- oh! Gonta remembered! He need to share something with everyone!”

“You do?” Ryoma turns to look at him.

“Yep! When Gonta out looking for bugs this morning, Gonta found something outside!” Gonta reveals happily. “Though, Gonta not sure how important it is.”

“Perhaps if you share with us what you found we can determine whether it is or not?” Kirumi suggests.

Gonta nods. “Well, Gonta found a stone outside and Gonta thought he saw something written on it.”

“Perhaps a clue?” Korekiyo hums.

“Maybe but...Gonta doesn’t know how to read scribbles.”

“Scribbles? Interesting…”

“You saw a stone with scribbles on it?” Tsumugi looks confused. “Why would someone scribble on a rock of all things?”

“Gonta really not sure! Though Gonta sure something was written under it!” Gonta waves his hands around. 

“Wow! Perhaps Atua was trying to show you something?” Angie excitedly chatters. “Oh how divine!”

“Is Atua...a small bug?” Gonta innocently asks. “Gonta thought he saw small bugs! Though, Gonta think the bug too small to see.”

“That’s...concerning,” Kirumi frowns. “I hoped there would be no vermin here.”

“Well, good thing there isn’t!”

Monokuma pops up next to the table. Everyone starts screaming, including Monokuma.

“Why are you screaming?!” Kaito yells from across the table.

Monokuma abruptly stops. “Huh? Was I?”

Ryoma sighs loudly. “What do you want?”

“That’s no way to speak to your head teacher!” Monokuma’s face turns red before he begins to pout. “Well, maybe I won’t give you all these gifts then!”

“Gifts?” Himiko’s head turns in interest.

“No! We don’t want his gifts!” Tenko hisses in disgust.

Monokuma completely ignores everyone. “My adorable little children will even give them to you!”

As if on cue, the Monokubz spring into the room. 

“Y-Yeah! Here you g-go!” Monophanie sweats as she holds out an object in her hand.

“Y-Yep!” Monotaro does the same.

Monokid gives Monodam a harsh push. “Go on! Give him your gift too!”

“...”

The gifts are pushed onto the table before the five bears awkwardly look at everyone and leave. Even Monokuma is baffled.

“Huh? Is there something wrong with my kids?”

“Obviously if your their father,” Maki mutters under her breath.

Monokuma either doesn’t hear her or just doesn’t listen. “Anyway! Have fun with your prizes!”

“Wait! But this is all just junk!” Kaito sweats heavily. “What do we do with it?”

“Eh? I dunno! Aren’t you all ultimates? Figure it out yourselves!” Monokuma rolls his eyes before leaving.

The group all stare at the objects on the table. There’s a red ball, an instrument of some sort, a strange passport looking thing and a crank. Clearly, no one knows what to do with any of these things and all give the same blank stare. 

“Well, Saihara? Do you have any idea what to do with them?” Kokichi asks.

Shuichi jumps, as if startled. “Um, n-not really. Although...I don’t think he’d just give us random stuff for no reason.”

“Some of these things are quite peculiar,” Korekiyo muses, picking up the ocarina.

“What are they?” Miu asks loudly, her hands lunging for the table, almost knocking the red ball off the table. Kirumi quickly catches it and cradles it in her hands.

Angie tilts her head to the side. “Can’t you see, Iruma?”

“W-Well!” Miu sweats, clawing at her goggles. “Of course I can, you idiot! Just who do you think I am!”

“Hey! How many fingers am I holding up!” Kokichi thrusts his hand in Miu’s face. 

She squawks. “How the hell am I supposed to see them if they’re up that close!”

“Iruma, if you have a problem, you don’t need to be scared to tell us,” Kirumi gently tells her. 

“There’s no problem!” Miu insists. “A-Anyway! We need to...p-play with this junk.”

“Play with what junk?” Himiko asks the same time as Miu lets out a small whimper.

“More importantly, whose junk?” Kokichi supplies. Miu groans loudly.

Shuichi quickly cuts in. “Maybe these things can be used around the academy.” He points to the red ball in Kirumi’s hand. “I think I’ve seen somewhere were that can be used.”

“Oh! Maybe you’re right!” Tsumugi clasps her hands together. “Then, perhaps we should split up and find where everything needs to be used!”

“Well, Tenko doesn’t want her or Yumeno with any boys!” She instantly cries out. “Akamatsu, Yonaga! You are welcome to join us. Infact, all the girls can!”

“That wouldn’t make the groups that well split,” Korekiyo tells her. Tenko growls.

“How about I team up with Shirogane, Iruma and Harukawa?” Kirumi suggests quickly, which causes Tenko to back down and nod approvingly. 

Maki shakes her head. “I’m not looking around.”

“Eh, why not?” Kaito asks her. “We’ll find things much easier if we all work together.”

Maki glares at him. “Saihara is perfectly capable of finding everything himself. Isn’t he supposed to be the Ultimate Detective?”

“But if we work together we find everything quicker!” Gonta stares at her in bewilderment. “Gonta think that-”

“I’m leaving,” Maki states, walking out of the dining room. 

“What’s her problem?” Kokichi watches her leave the room with curious eyes. 

“S-She does have a point,” Shuichi says, pulling on his hat. “I can do this by myself.”

“That’s not the point!” Kaito retorts, putting his hands on his hips with and letting out a gruff huff. “Geez. We can’t just sit back and expect you to do absolutely everything!”

“But-”

“Atua agrees with him!” Angie smiles. “Let us help!”

Shuichi doesn’t get a chance to speak before Kokichi snatches the ocarina from Kiyo’s hands. “Hey, hey! Do you think I’ll be able to play it?”

“Oh, oh! Play a song from Zelda! I've always loved the Zelda soundtrack!” Tsumugi excitedly requests.

“Who is Zelda?” Himiko asks.

Tsumugi looks rejected.

“Come on, Amami! Let’s go and find out what this is used for!” Kokichi tugs on his shirt sleeve.

Korekiyo quickly scrambles after them, knocking over a chair in the process.

"I was rather curious about that myself,” he says, following the two out of the dining room, his eyes bright with curiosity. “I’d appreciate it if I was able to hold it?”

“Huh?” Kokichi looks down at it. “I mean, if you can catch it, sure!”

Korekiyo stumbles forwards as Kokichi throws the ocarina up into the air, catching it easily but giving Kokichi a glare afterwards, holding the ocarina in his palm and giving it a quick look over quietly. 

Rantaro sighs. “Do you have to be so awkward this early in the morning?”

“Me?” Kokichi looks bewildered as he puts his hands behind his head. “I really have no idea what you’re on about, Amami!”

“Before, you were winding everyone up in the dining hall and ganging up on Akamatsu and now you’re just throwing prizes around. What if Shinguji hadn’t caught it?”

“Then we’d have one less thing to look for?”

Rantaro shakes his head. “Monokuma would also not be that happy if you broke something he gave to us.”

“Aw!” Kokichi’s eyes flutter dramatically. “You really do care about me! That’s so sweet!”

Rantaro feels a headache coming on. 

“There doesn’t seem to be anything too interesting about this,” Korekiyo says, catching up with the other two. “In fact, it’s actually rather bland. How disappointing.”

“So there isn’t really anything special about it?” Rantaro asks, also feeling a little disappointed.

“Not really,” Korekiyo responds. “It was probably made only to suit the purpose of whatever Monokuma had in mind for us.”

“Boring!” Kokichi glares at the ocarina. “I thought this thing at least would’ve been a little bit interesting!”

“Maybe we’ll find something interesting with it?” Rantaro suggests, wanting to calm Kokichi down just a little bit. He’s not sure how long he can handle his childish antics. 

Somehow, this works and Kokichi once again snatches the instrument from Korekiyo’s hands, who lets out a rather strangled and frustrated noise as the younger male begins to run off with it.

“Must he act like this all the time?” Kiyo huffs through his mask, eyes narrowed. “He’s getting on my nerves.”

Rantaro stays quiet, although he feels a rather negative energy coming from the anthropologist. 

The two of them follow Kokichi all the way outside, where the hot sun is shining lazily through the glass panels. Kokichi hops down the steps and looks around wildly before running to the side of the school. Once again, Rantaro and Korekiyo follow him wordlessly.

“I don’t really see anything we can use this one,” Rantaro pants as he finally catches up to the leader, who grins down at him. 

“It’s not like we’ve actually used it yet,” Kokichi reminds him. Rantaro feels his cheeks flush, feeling a little more than stupid. 

Korekiyo shoots a look at the leader. “The problem is, we have no idea what to use it on.”

Kokichi’s eyes light up. “Then maybe we should just use it on everything!”

He puts starts to blow on the ocarina and starts to surprisingly play a simple tune, his fingers fluttering along the instrument. The three of them jump as the dark, thick leaves that were covering something next to them fall away from the building and land on the floor in a heap, revealing another door. 

“Ah!” The ocarina in Kokichi’s hands shatters and tumbles to the floor in many pieces. 

“So it only had one use,” Kiyo muses, looking up the steps towards the new area. “Interesting.”

Rantaro warily looks at the new door that has opened. If his memory is correct, they're about to find the swimming pool.

“Well, looks like all we can do is go inside!” Kokichi grins, darting up the steps and pushing open the door. The heavy stench of chlorine hits them all. “Oh cool! A swimming pool!”

Knowing that there shouldn't be any real danger, Rantaro follows Kokichi inside and sees that the leader is correct. A large swimming pool takes up the majority of the room, with a few sunbeds lining up around it. The water glistens invitingly.

Korekiyo rubs his chin as he looks at a piece of paper on the wall. “It seems this pool can’t be used at night time.”

“Eh, that’s boring,” Kokichi pouts as he looks at the rules too. 

“It’s probably so no one accidentally dies whilst their on their own,” Rantaro grimly brings up. 

“That’s rather morbid,” Korekiyo says.

Kokichi begins to bounce up and down, pointing upwards. “Look! Look! I found Momota!”

Rantaro blinks in surprise before looking up himself. There’s a large window overlooking the swimming pool and there’s a distinctive purple figure looking through the window. It’s definitely Kaito, who grins and waves when he spots Rantaro and Korekiyo, completely ignoring Kokichi. He opens the window and yells. 

“So, you found the entrance to the swimming pool?”

“Yes. It seemed we had to play the ocarina for the leaves outside to move,” Korekiyo responds. 

“Cool!” Kaito seems genuinely happy for whatever reason. “We found a shit ton of labs up here! None of yours though, sorry.” He scratches the back of his head. “We’re in Hoshi’s lab, though he doesn’t seem to like it that much. Which makes no sense because it’s awesome! I’m totally gonna challenge him to a game later!”

“Yeah, and get your ass kicked!” Kokichi giggles.

Kaito pounds his fists together. “Well, I just gotta practice! You’ll see!”

Gonta comes into view, holding something in his large hands. 

“Oh yeah!” Kaito continues. “We’re all going to meet at the gym later! I think we found something that everyone should see!”

“Oh?” Korekiyo’s curious glint returns. “Hopefully their find is something better than a swimming pool.”

Kaito gives one last wave before turning away from the window. Gonta stays there, continuing to obliviously wave as the rest of his group leaves.

“Well!” Kokichi claps his hands together. “Is there anything else we should do or shall we all just head to the gym?”

Rantaro clears his throat. “I need to go somewhere first-”

“Really?”

Kokichi’s face twists into something cold as he smirks.

“You’re not going back to the library, are you?”

Korekiyo is either oblivious to Kokichi’s face or just ignores it. “Amami? You wish to go back to the library? I thought that would be the last place you’d want to be.”

Rantaro sweats. He did actually want to go back to the library, one more time just so he could try and open the door once more. He knows that if he can just get into the room, he can end the entire killing game. He never got the chance to have a big look around yesterday and he wants to check the door at least one more time before giving up entirely. He can’t just let another one of the group die. Kiibo already gave up his life for them all.

If only he was a little quicker.

If only Kaede hadn’t stopped him.

“It’s a little suspicious Amami would want to go back in the first place!” Kokichi says before letting out a large gasp. “Unless...Amami? Are you the mastermind!”

“Of course not! Didn’t we prove it yesterday that I wasn’t?” Rantaro grits his teeth. “I found the entrance and put two and two together. What would you have done if you found a secret entrance?”

Kokichi’s face goes blank. Then, a small smile curls on his lips. “Yeah, I guess you’re right.”

“Huh?”

“I totes would’ve looked too! Though, I would’ve at least brought my super duper secret mastermind key with me! Silly Amami!”

“Amami clearly doesn’t have the key to that room,” Kiyo states. “It is a shame, however, that we can’t get inside. It’d be nice if we could just end this game once and for all.”

“I mean, we can end the game quickly if we wanted to,” Kokichi tells him. “Just kill everyone now! Bam!”

Rantaro shakes his head, feeling just a little annoyed. “Ouma, be sensible.”

“Okay!”

The headache grows.

“Actually, Amami,” Korekiyo says quickly, “I have something to ask you.”

“You do?”

“Hmm.” Korekiyo nods. “It’s about Akamatsu.”

“Ooh, what has she done now?” Kokichi asks, bouncing on his heels.

“Nothing more that I know of,” Korekiyo admits, “but...I’m starting to think we should perhaps be a little more wary of her. We all seem to see her as our leader but now…”

“You don’t trust her anymore?” Rantaro asks.

“I don’t see any reason why I should,” Korekiyo says. “It was you, afterall, who almost died because of her actions.”

Rantaro crosses his arms. First Kaito tells him this morning that he wants to believe in Kaede and now Korekiyo is telling him that he doesn’t want to believe in her. The two were on two completely different ends of the spectrum. 

“I understand that it was Monokuma’s intention to get us to distrust Akamatsu,” Kiyo continues calmly, “but is it really safe for all of us to just forget what she did?”

Kokichi’s face remains blank in the background. 

Rantaro feels his heart beat faster. Why was everyone coming to him to talk about Kaede? Well, sure, he was the one who almost died because of her actions but he really didn’t want to think about it. He wanted to push the events of yesterday to the back of his head and keep them there. He just wants to leave with everyone else. He wants to find the mastermind and make them stop the killing game as peacefully as possible.

He’s in a strange position. He can’t trust anyone yet...he doesn’t want them to die. He has information that he doesn’t want to give to anyone right now. Does it make him selfish keeping it to himself? If he shares it with everyone, will the game end right away? Would the mastermind take him out straight away if he puts all his information out into the open? Will everyone trust him if they find out he’s been lying all this time?

Does he even have the right to distrust Kaede right now?

He’d be lying if he said he said he did.

Though…

“Right now,” Rantaro says, “I think it’s too dangerous for us all to start distrusting each other too much.”

“I see,” Kiyo responds, expressing little to no emotion. “Well, you must have a big heart if you’re willing to forgive her just like that.”

Rantaro scratches the back of his head. “Yeah, well I’m not the type to stay mad at people for too long. Besides, I’m used to dealing with my little sisters. They’re all troublemakers, but they’re good deep down.”

Kiyo looks intrigued. “I didn’t know you had siblings?”

“Yeah, quite a few of them,” Rantaro tells him, smiling. 

“Oh my,” Kiyo covers his mouth, “you must tell me about them one day.”

Rantaro continues to smile, though it’s a little more tighter now. Korekiyo seems a little too excited about his sibling, though Rantaro has no idea why. 

“Well, this is exciting and all but,” Kokichi yawns, “I think we should all go to the gym now! We can check out the library later, ‘kay?”

Rantaro stumbles as Kokichi latches onto his arm as per usual and skips out of the swimming pool, Korekiyo following after them, eyes blinking as if in a daze.

\---

They’re the last ones to enter the gym, it seems. 

Tenko is stood to the side with Himiko standing by her side, letting out large yawns. Tenko looks at her with warm eyes. To Tenko’s other side is Kaede, who hugs herself and is staring at the ground and probably lost in thought. Angie is talking to her, her mouth moving quickly though Rantaro fails to hear what the artist is saying. He doubts it is anything important.

Kirumi stands near the center of the gym, hands clasped in front of her in a professional manner. She offers Rantaro a small smile as he steps through the gym doors. He smiles back at her. Tsumugi plays with her hair whilst Miu stands rather close to her, one of her hands on the cosplayer’s shoulder. Despite the inventor’s tense posture, she seems to be acting like her normal self as she lets out one of her loud cackles that echoes around the room.

Gonta startles as the cackle, almost dropping what’s in his hands. Shuichi quickly takes it from his hands, though doesn’t seem angry at him at all, flashing a quick smile at Gonta before holding the item to his chest. Kaito clasps his hand on Shuichi’s shoulder, knocking him forwards. Ryoma looks at the two of them and sighs heavily from under his hat. 

Someone also probably convinced Maki to join them. She’s standing by the entrance and glares at the three of them as they walk in. Rantaro feels his blood go cold from under her gaze.

“Excellent, it seems everyone is here,” Kirumi warmly states. “We can now begin to share what we all found.”

Miu quickly starts the conversation off. “Well, I don’t know about you all but we found something pretty fucking cool! That’s right! A casino, baby! Now all you virgins can feast your eyes on-”

“A casino?” Ryoma raises an eyebrow. “Why would we want one of those?”

“It does seem like a random thing to put in a school,” Himiko nods.

Miu shakes. “B-But we can all play s-strip poker-”

“Why the hell would anyone want to look at your ugly body? Are you trying to make us blind?” Kokichi calls from across the room.

Miu trembles. 

“We found something amazing, didn’t we Yumeno!” Tenko says excitedly, hands curled together. “The Ultimate Mage’s lab!”

Himiko nods slowly. “That’s right, we found my lab. It’s okay, I guess.”

“You found a lab too?” Kaito asks, sounding pretty happy. “We all found quite a few too! Tojo, we found your lab. You might be disappointed though, it’s just full of cleaning stuff.”

Kirumi looks delighted. 

“We found uh...Gokuhara’s lab too. Yeah...uh...Gonta likes it at least,” Kaito continues, a little more slowly.

Gonta nods, his smile as warm as the sun. “Gonta found lots of bugs in his lab so Gonta is really happy! Everyone welcome to meet the bugs too! Gonta want everyone to be friends with bugs!”

Strangely, no one is brave enough to take him up on his offer. 

“We also found Hoshi’s lab! Right, Hoshi?” Kaito encourages the tennis player to speak up. 

Ryoma opts to stay quiet, looking anywhere but anyone else’s eyes. Maybe he doesn’t really like his lab?

“There was also Harukawa’s lab but…” Kaito looks at her. Maki glowers back, her red eyes dangerous from where she stands in the shadows. “Q-Quit it! Jeez, you can look real scary when you want to be, you know?”

“Was that everything from upstairs?” Kirumi asks them, quickly moving the subject along.

“Nope!” Gonta tells her. “We also found chest! We found something inside! Gonta think it light!”

Shuichi holds up the object in his hands. From what Rantaro can gather, it looks like a flashlight. What a strange find. Perhaps they’ll be heading into a dark area later?

“That looks boring,” Kokichi says. “Almost as boring as the swimming pool we found!”

“Ah, yes,” Kiyo says. “Our group simply found a swimming pool. I must say though, no one is allowed to swim in it at night.”

“Atua says that is a strange rule,” Angie says.

“Though a rule is a rule,” Kirumi reminds her. “I would not like to face the consequences of any rule breaking.”

Rantaro shudders as he silently agrees.

“Is that everything?” Maki suddenly asks from the back of the room. “I want to lea-”

“Not so fast!”

Monokuma appears next to Gonta, who jumps back, pushing Shuichi and Ryoma behind him.

“Quick, everyone behind Gonta! Gonta protect-”

“Oh hush!” Monokuma stomps his foot. “I can’t hurt anyone, remember? Well, unless you’ve broken a rule, of course. In that case, I’ll have to hurt you!”

“What do you want?” Ryoma asks, popping his head from behind Gonta’s leg. He looks bored.

“I’ve come to tell you about that flashlight!” Monokuma points to the flashlight in Shuichi’s hands gleefully. “Now, this isn’t any ordinary flashlight, no, no! My dear students, this is a flashback light!”

“A...flashback light?” Tsumugi parrots quietly. 

“Yep!” Monokuma says proudly. “It’s very important that you all use it together!”

“But what does it do?” Rantaro hears himself ask. 

Monokuma turns to look at him. “I dunno, can’t tell you! Though…” He sneers. “Maybe you of all people will benefit from it the most!”

“What’s that-” Monokuma leaves before Rantaro can finish. “Supposed to mean…”

“Ooh! That was really ominous!” Kokichi shakes besides Rantaro. 

“Amami, do you know what he’s on about?” Kaito asks.

Rantaro shakes his head. “Sorry, no.”

“Maybe he’s making fun about the fact you can’t remember your talent?” Tsumugi suggests.

“Yeah, maybe,” Rantaro agrees. 

“So it’ll give us back our memories?” Miu grips onto Tsumugi’s shoulder tighter.

Himiko groans. “Does that mean Monokuma is responsible for our missing memories?”

“Most likely,” Kirumi replies.

“Well, should we even use it?” Ryoma questions glumily. “Who knows what’ll happen if we turn it on.”

“Better than us just waiting around,” Kaito plucks the flashback light from Shuichi. “We’ll not get anywhere if we just do nothing!”

“But we don’t know if it’s dangerous!” Tsumugi looks panicked as she takes a small step forward. 

“Ah, but Monokuma can’t hurt us directly, correct?” Angie’s holding a paintbrush between two fingers. “Atua says we should be fine if we want to use it!”

“See! We can’t get hurt!” Kaito cheers. “So, I’m gonna turn it on! Everyone brace yourselves!”

Kaito presses the button and everything goes white. Rantaro’s world tilts and turns, twists and squirms. He’s in a world of his own memories that-

Rantaro wakes up on the floor. All the other students are surrounding him; Kirumi is by his side, one of her gloves on the ground as her hand gently presses against his forehead.

“He doesn’t seem to have a temperature,” she tells the others.

“Ah, he’s awake!” Shuichi says.

This causes all the students to look down at him, all of them wearing looks of concerns to different degrees. 

“Holy shit, are you okay?” Kaito asks, his voice sounding too loud.

“I thought Monokuma said no one would get hurt!” Tsumugi chimes in, face pale and covered in a thin layer of sweat. 

“Guess he fucking lied,” Miu mutters, sounding rather on edge. 

Rantaro slowly pulls himself up into a sitting position with the help of Kirumi. She stays knelt next to him, one of her hands on his back as if to steady him. He finds a small amount of comfort from this and enjoys the warmth from her ungloved hand. 

“Wait,” Rantaro glances around the room. “Did no one else..?”

“Amami was the only one to faint!” Kokichi tells him cheerfully. “Yeesh, you didn’t need to be so dramatic!”

“Ouma, is now really the time to be making fun of him?” Shuichi sends the leader a tired look. Kokichi sneers back at him wordlessly. 

“More importantly,” Ryoma says, “did you remember anything when we turned on the light?”

Rantaro pauses and racks his memory. There was a bright light and his entire mind felt like it was burning under its intensity. Yet…

“Was I supposed to?”

Some of the students look worriedly at each other. Rantaro feels his stomach drop.

“Does the term, ‘Ultimate Hunt’ mean anything to you?” Kirumi questions him, her thumb rubbing his shoulder comfortingly. 

The Ultimate Hunt? Rantaro thinks and thinks. It feels like he knows it, like he knows everything about it yet the answer is stuck on the tip of his tongue. However, even though he tries, he just draws up blanks. His head hurts too much to think.

“Sorry I...don’t.”

He spots Shuichi look at him with a surprised look and from the corner of his eye, Kaede too looks a little more than stunned. 

“Really?” Tenko frowns at him. “We all remembered the Ultimate Hunt when the light got turned on.”

“It would seem strange for only you to not remember it,” Korekiyo observes, his hand on his chin and expression thoughtful. 

“Maybe the light made him forget everything instead?” Himiko suggests.

“Atua says that might be a good theory!” Angie agrees, spinning around to look at Rantaro. “Is that correct? Have all your memories disappeared?”

“I don’t think so?” Rantaro looks around the room. He recognises everyone. He remembers what had happened yesterday. He remembers the student they had all lost, Kiibo. He remembers waking up in a hallway, weeds brushing against his wrists and coiling around his ankles as he opened his eyes. He remembers the heavy weight of his special prize monopad, that always stays inside his pocket or in his hands. He remembers the library, the secret door and he remembers shot put balls falling from the sky.

“Maybe light not work on him!” Gonta points out and scoops up the flashback light that’s on the floor. “Eh? It broken?!”

Kaito coughs into his hand. “I might’ve dropped it when I turned it on.”

“Good job, genius!” Miu cackles at him. 

“But now we can’t use it again for Amami,” Tsumugi looks disappointed, looking at the scattered glass on the floor.

“It’s not like it was useful,” Maki says, standing near the back of the group. “We didn’t even understand what it means.”

“Anything is better than nothing,” Korekiyo reminds her.

“Or, it could be one of Monokuma’s tricks.” Maki shakes her head at the group. “If we keep believing every little thing Monokuma tells us, we’ll all end up dead.”

“Wow! I never expected you to say something smart!” Kokichi smirks up at her. “You do have a good point.”

“Well, what did we do with the information we found out, then?” Ryoma pulls on his hat. 

“We can’t just ignore it!” Kaito yells at the group impatiently. “If we all, well, most of us remembered about the Ultimate Hunt, then maybe they’re the ones responsible for us all being here!”

“A good theory!”

Monokuma hops back into the room. 

“Well, it looks like most of you got your memories back!” 

“Hey! Explain yourself!” Tenko growls, her fists out and shaking.

“What the fuck is all this hunt bullshit?” Miu asks.

“Huh? You expect me to tell you just like that?” Monokuma puts his hands to his mouth. “But that would be boring! Besides, does it really matter that much?”

“What’s that mean?” Himiko glares at him from under her hat.

“It means, right now, as long as I get you all to participate in the killing game I’ll be satisfied!” Monokuma announces. 

“So the memory you gave us, it doesn’t matter?” Kirumi’s back straightens.

“Oh, it does,” Monokuma responds, “it’s just, your sealed memories are rather stubborn. You’ll all remember much more in due time!”

“So we didn’t remember everything?” Maki’s glare darkens.

“That’s right!” Monokuma seems all to joyful about their situation. He grins in Rantaro’s direction. “Although, it seems the use of the flashback light didn’t help someone at all. Someone seems to want you at a disadvantage!”

Rantaro’s blood runs cold.

“Huh? What does that mean?” Tsumugi looks just as nervous as Rantaro feels.

“Who knows?” Monokuma says. “Though I’ll be sleeping with one eye open from now on, if I was you, Amami!”

The bear leaves before anyone can get another word in.

On the floor, Rantaro feels his hands tremble. 

“I wonder what he meant by all that?” Kiyo ponders. 

Rantaro pulls himself up from the floor, discreetly checking his pocket for his monopad. It’s only a little relief that he can feel it in his pocket. A part of him wants to throw it across the room now and destroy it, get rid of any evidence that shows that it’s his. Monokuma’s warning was all to clear. 

The mastermind knows that he has an advantage.

“Are you sure you should be getting up so quickly?” Kirumi scrambles up from the floor after him. “You’re looking rather pale…”

“I’m fine,” Rantaro tells her. Shit. There’s no way he’s fine. 

“Tenko thinks you should sit back down,” she presses two fingers together. “Even if you are a male, Tenko doesn’t want you to get hurt.”

Rantaro knows he can’t stay here with everyone. They’re all looking at him with looks of concern but he knows at least one look is fake, that one person in here is after him and wants him dead. He knows one person here has an upper hand that it greater than his and can get rid of him in a heartbeat.

He really doesn’t know what to do with that knowledge, knowing that someone is after him. Knowing that someone knows he is lying through his teeth.

“I’ll see everyone later,” Rantaro quickly spits out. He wordlessly walks out of the gym, ignoring everyone’s cries or worried jitters and as soon as he is out of those doors he runs, his feet pounding against the ground loudly, creating small clouds of dust.

He runs straight to the dormitories, pushing open the glass doors with his palms and heads straight for his bedroom, fumbling around in his pockets for his key. In the end, however, it turns out he never needed his key. He soon notices his door is open ajar and he feels the sweat build up on his body, trickling down his face, pooling coolly on his hot skin. Slowly, he reaches his hand out and pushes on the door, which creaks quietly under his scared touch. 

His entire room is a mess, his covers thrown across the room from his bed. His mattress has been knocked from the bed frame slightly. His bed drawers are open, though he never put anything in them in the first place. His wardrobe has been emptied onto the floor, his clothes lying around in messy heaps. His couch pillows are on the opposite end of the room, his couch definitely not in the same position as it was before. The desk that had once been pushed up against his wall is now at an angle, the drawers on that open too. 

However, the thing that scares Rantaro the most isn’t the state of the room but the knife that had been lodged into his pillows, spilling feathers out on the mattress and onto thefloor.


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Woo hoo! New chapter! I hope you all enjoy it :)

It isn’t long before more and more people arrive at the dormitories.

Tsumugi bursts through the door first, breathless. She holds the side of the glass door doubled over, one hand on her leg as she heaves in air. Maybe she isn’t used to running.

“Amami?” She asks softly as she gets her breath back. “Are you okay? You’re just standing there.”

He turns his head ever so slightly to look at the cosplayer. Her expression seems sincere, with worried eyes hidden behind her glasses. She pushes away from the door and heads towards him and his bedroom door. He jolts, moving away from her. Tsumugi looks up at him, surprised. 

“Amami?”

She then notices the state of his room and lets out a loud squeal. The dormitory door once again slams open, glass vibrating wildly as it hits the wall. 

“Shirogane! Are you okay?”

Kaito skids into the room, tumbling a little as he almost loses his balance. He too has a little bit of sweat on his forehead and has a voice that sounds a little too breathless. 

“Man, I didn’t know you could run so fast!”

“You ran?” Rantaro asks quietly, his voice almost muffled. He holds his monopad to his chest in a small attempt of comfort, his rings rubbing against the tablet. 

Tsumugi nods. “Of course! I was worried about you! Monokuma was cruel to try and scare you like that!”

“Yeah!” Kaito agrees. “He was way out of line! Don’t worry, man. We’ve got your back!”

Rantaro desperately wants to agree with him, with them both but then looks back into his room and looks at the state of it. Monokuma wouldn’t do this to him, would he? However, the only other alternative would be that it was a student and Rantaro doesn’t think his anxiety can take another beating if he finds out he really can’t trust anyone. 

Kaito follows his gaze and spots the messy room. “What the fuck?!” The astronaut stands at the doorway to his bedroom, peering inside. Rantaro has never seen Kaito so angry when he finally notices the knife sticking out of the pillow. “Fuck!”

“Momota? Is everything alright?”

Kirumi steps into the dorms, opening the door much more delicately. She has Shuichi with her, the detective almost hiding behind the maid’s skirts. He looks concerned when he sees the faces of everyone else in the room. 

“No! Look at this!” The astronaut furiously jabs a finger at Rantaro’s room. “Someone must have done this!”

The maid raises an eyebrow and peers into the room. A gloved hand covers her mouth as her eyes widen ever so slightly. “Oh my.”

Shuichi looks at the room and then over at Rantaro. “Did you lock your doors this morning?”

Rantaro nods. “I always lock my room doors whenever I leave my room.”

“Then how did someone get inside?” Tsumugi asks. Her blue eyes are wide and startled and she looks like she’s on the verge of crying. From the way she’s been acting, it might as well have been her room that’s been destroyed.

Rantaro helplessly shrugs. He needs to calm down. He needs to regain his composure. Right now, anyone could be the mastermind. If he starts freaking out all the time and shows too much weakness, then the mastermind can use that to their advantage. He needs to follow his plan he had made as soon as he woke up here. Keep calm and keep the relaxed and cool facade on. Lie to everyone to make them think he’s just an oblivious and clueless amnesiac. 

“Do you have your key on you?” Kirumi prompts.

He digs through his pockets and produces his room key. 

Kirumi frowns. “This is concerning.”

“It’s more than concerning!” Kaito retorts. “Who the hell would do this!”

“We’re not sure right now,” Shuichi reminds him. “Amami, can I have a little look around your room? I want to see if I can find anything that could help.”

Rantaro blinks down at the detective. Before the trial yesterday, Rantaro didn’t think much of the detective. Shuichi has only spoke to him a handful of times, one of them to question him. Every time, Rantaro has brushed him off and every time. Shuichi backed away straight away. Admittedly, the detective never really painted himself as reliable from day one. However, after the trial, Rantaro finds that even though he doesn’t know if he can trust the detective, perhaps he’s more amazing than Rantaro first thought he was. Afterall, he found the secret entrance on his own and had made a solid plan to find the mastermind.

What would’ve happened if Kaede had not interfered with her own plan? What would’ve happened if Kiibo hadn’t blown himself up?

He’s reluctant but Rantaro decides if he wants to keep his facade going, he’ll have to pretend to trust people just for now. He forces a smile. 

“Of course, Saihara.”

Shuichi nods and ducks into the room, zipping around at a rather surprisingly and steady rate. All he’s missing is a magnifying glass.

“Ah, there he is!”

Some more students file into the room. 

Gonta holds the door open for Angie, Korekiyo and Ryoma. They all walk into the room one after another. 

“Ah! There you are!” Angie’s head bops side to side in excitement. “Atua said you’ll be here! How are you feeling now? You are looking less pale!”

“Indeed,” Kiyo agreeds, nodding. “You seem to be getting a little more colour back. It was quite worrisome to see you run off like that.”

“Not like we blame you,” Ryoma grumbles, “that was shitty of Monokuma.”

“Gonta will help as much as he can!” Gonta tells him, sounding so genuine that Rantaro struggles to actually want to distrust Gonta. He’s practically the real life definition of a gentle giant. “In fact! Gonta can cheer you up and take you to see bugs!”

“Ah, not right now,” Rantaro instantly responds, holding his hands out. “Thanks, though.”

“Perhaps a light lunch is in order for you to feel better?” Kiyo suggests. “We wouldn’t want you getting sick now.”

“I’ll start on lunch soon,” Kirumi tells Korekiyo. “However, we do have a more pressing matter right now.”

“Oh?” Ryoma curiously looks up from under his hat. “What’s wrong?”

“Someone has messed up Amami’s room!” Kaito informs them all heatedly. “There’s a knife in his pillow and everything!”

“What? Really?” Angie puts her hands next to her mouth that’s open in a wide circle. “That’s dreadful! Totes not cool!”

“That’s certainly a concern,” Korekiyo says. “Rantaro, you’ve not been hurt, have you?”

Rantaro shakes his head. “No. I only found the room in this state.”

“Besides,” Ryoma continues. “Everyone else was in the gym. None of us could’ve hurt him.”

“That terrible!” Gonta’s face screams that he is distressed. “Who do such a thing?”

“That’s what Saihara is trying to find out,” Kirumi tells him delicately. She gestures to him. He’s currently kneeling behind the door, closely inspecting the door lock. His eyebrows are furrowed together. “He’ll do a good job.”

“Hell yeah he will!” Kaito agrees. “I bet he’ll figure out what’s happened!”

From behind the door, Shuichi blushes.

“Perhaps we should leave Saihara to it then,” Korekiyo says, rocking back on his feet. Rantaro only now notices how long his legs are. Wow, how had he not noticed how tall Korekiyo is?

“Yes, there’s no need for us all to be crowded around here,” Kirumi nods. “I shall start making lunch, does anyone have any requests?”

Kirumi leaves the room along with Ryoma, Korekiyo, Angie, Gonta and Tsumugi, the latter offering a worried smile before scurrying out the room. Kaito leans heavily onto the door frame, crossing his arms with a grimace. He seems tense, if the way his hunched up shoulders indicate anything. 

“Tsk, don’t worry, Amami,” Kaito tries to sound soothing. “We’ll figure who did this! It’s pretty sick, if you ask me.”

“Ah, thank you, Momota, Saihara.” Rantaro’s smile goes thin and feels stretched. There’s no doubt he still feels nervous, yet a little bit of his anxiety has died down. Oddly, he feels a little better around Kaito and to a degree, Shuichi. At least Rantaro can watch Shuichi work. He’s too hesitant to leave the detective on his own inside his room, however. 

Actually, now that he thinks about it, wouldn’t now be the perfect time to talk to Shuichi? Rantaro sneaks a look at Kaito, then slowly raises a hand to feel his forehead with a fake grimace.

“Actually, Momota,” Rantaro says, leaning against the wall himself, using one hand to prop himself up. “I’m feeling a little sick again. Sorry to bother you but tea usually soothes my stomach.”

“Tea?” Kaito pauses. “Sure! I’ll be right back!”

Kaito dashes from the dormitories, once again slamming the glass door into the wall. Rantaro is glad Monokuma isn’t around to see this.

He spins back around and steps into his bedroom, grimacing at the mess. Shuichi is still behind the door, inspecting the lock. The detective looks to be deep in thought as he runs his fingers across the lock. Rantaro loudly clears his throat, causing Shuichi to jump and twist away from the lock.

“Ah! Amami!” He wipes his hands on his slacks. “I, um, think I’ve found something.”

“Oh?” Already?

Shuichi moves away from the lock. From a distance, it looks like there is nothing wrong with it at all. “Yes. I checked the lock and if you look close enough, there’s little scratches everywhere on it on the outside around the keyhole. Since you had your key, it’s obvious someone had to break inside. However…” Shuichi closes the door. There’s no audible clicking noise. “Whoever did this has completely broken your lock so now your door won't close properly.”

Rantaro bites his lip. “I thought we weren’t allowed to break school property?”

“It’s just the monopads we aren’t allowed to break,” Shuichi reminds him. “Monokuma probably wouldn’t care if a bedroom door gets broken.”

He feels warm but in all the wrong ways. He feels his insides twist together, his intestines knotting, his stomach clenching, lungs burning, a feeling of a spider crawling up his throat. He probably reeks of fear; the stench is everywhere on him like a sickly sweet perfume.

“Amami.” Shuichi says hesitantly. “I don’t want to push you but is there anything else that you’re hiding?”

“Anything else?”

“Well...I’m still trying to figure out how you knew about the secret door in the library.”

“Ah, that,” Rantaro closes his eyes. “I wanted to...thank you, you know, for covering for me.”

Shuichi shuffles awkwardly. “I...you’re welcome.”

“Although,” Rantaro puts his hands on his hips. “Why? Aren’t you worried that you’ve helped the wrong person. What if I really am the mastermind?”

“That’s,” Shuichi tugs harshly on his hat. It completely submerges his eyes into the shadow the cap creates. “Well...I thought you really needed help.”

“...”

“I…” Shuichi swallows. “Someone said something really...inspiring to me before we went down into the library, ah, well...you’ve probably realised it was Akamatsu. So, when you looked like you were in trouble I knew I had to help.”

“Even though I was probably the most likely candidate to be the mastermind?”

“I believe in innocent until proven guilty,” Shuichi tells him. “But, if you must really know one of the bigger reasons why I helped you, it’s because you could’ve gotten into the secret door any time you wanted. I’ll admit, it was weak reasoning at the time but it’s the conclusion I came up to. The proof you aren’t the mastermind only expands when you think about it more. Today’s events tell me a lot, how you were excluded from getting your memories back and the state of your room.”

“Yeah…”

“I also need to ask...are you sure you don’t remember anything about the Ultimate Hunt?”

Rantaro shakes his head. “Sorry, not a clue.”

“Well, it’s just,” Shuichi squirms, “you mentioned it in the dining hall a couple days back. At the time, you were the only one who knew about it.”

Rantaro’s eyes widen. Had he really? He tries to remember, tries to think. In the end, he comes up with nothing. It’s like his brain has been emptied. “Did I really?”

“You seemed a little reluctant to share much,” Shuichi admits. “I wonder, do the flashback lights have an opposite effect on you?” 

“Do you think?”

Shuichi hums. “It’s a possibility.”

So the flashback lights give back memories to the other students but take away his own? Rantaro tries to think more. If that’s the case, perhaps he knows more. If he thinks hard enough, then maybe he’ll remember something useful that might help them out even more-

“Ah, Amami?”

“Yes?”

“You didn’t answer my other question.”

About knowing anything else? Rantaro remains silent. It’s too soon. It’s way too soon to be sharing what he knows to other people. After the events of today, he needs to guard his secret monopad with his life. He can’t let the mastermind take it or destroy it. From what he’s gathered, the mastermind only knows that he has an advantage. Perhaps they don’t know everything that is on the monopad, only that the monopad is different from everyone else’s.

For now, Rantaro decides to keep his monopad to himself just a little longer.

“Sorry, Saihara,” he says, “the only thing I was hiding from the group was that I found the door.”

“Ah, how did you find the door?”

Rantaro crosses his arms. “Sorry, I really don’t want to say. Just...please trust me.”

“...”

“Saihara?”

“I-”

“I’ve got the tea!”

Kaito stumbles into the room, knocking heavily into the door that vibrates intensely after hitting into the wall. He’s barely keeping the tea inside of the cup as it sloshes around the edges, trickling down the side and splattering onto the floor. Kaito all but thrusts the cup into Rantaro’s hands, allowing the tea to wet his fingers. 

“Tojo made it special, just for you!” Kaito grins. “She’s almost finished making lunch, if you want to go and get something to eat.”

“Ah, uh-”

“That’s a good idea,” Shuichi cuts in.

Kaito’s lips curl into a smile. “Great! You can tell us about what you found on the way there!”

Rantaro has no choice as he is dragged out from the bedroom by an excited Kaito, who grins back at him when he notices his staring. He seems oblivious to Shuichi’s behaviour, completely missing the detective looking back at Rantaro. His expression is unreadable from under the hat and Rantaro can’t help but feel nervous.

\---

After lunch, Rantaro quickly scurries off to the library before anyone could stop him. Lunch had been okay, a little awkward in a few areas and even more awkward with everyone continuously asking if he was okay. He kept up his cool facade the entire time, smiling pleasantly every time someone talked to him and answered in a polite yet cool manner. At least he got everyone off his back acting this way, well, he hoped. 

The library smells like expected, of old books and a rich scent of dust. He runs his fingers across the books as he walks along the shelves and allows a thin dusting of dirt to grow on his fingertips, which he rubs together to get rid of when he reaches the secret door. He pulls on the door again when a flash disturbs him and then he remembers the cameras. He steps towards it to investigate it properly this time, pulling it away from its spot and investigating it. Unfortunately, it’s one of those cameras where you had to print the pictures to see what was on them. 

He then spots the shot put ball on the ground, near his feet. For now, he turns the camera off and scoops up the ball. It’s a heavy weight, even in his hands. He wonders how heavy it felt to Kaede. How long did she spend holding that weight?

“Ah, it seems Amami’s back in the library!”

Rantaro turns around quickly and notices Kokichi quicker.

The male screams when he spots the shot put ball, backing away with his hands covering his face. “Ah! I thought we were friends! Now you want to kill me!”

“I was just picking it up!” Rantaro quickly tells him.

“Okay!” Kokichi pulls his hands away and reveals his childish smile. “Just don’t drop it on your head or something!”

“What are you doing here, Ouma?”

“Eh? Is there a rule about being allowed in the library? What if I just want to find a nice book to read?”

“I really doubt that is the case.”

Kokichi smirks. “Geez, you seem a little annoyed. I thought you of all people wouldn’t want to be on their own.”

Rantaro swallows. “I’m fine either way.”

“Then you shouldn’t mind that I’m here!” Kokichi chirps. “Just ignore me, I have some things I need to pick up!”

Kokichi scans the room before his eyes light up. He heads towards one bookcase and plucks a camera Rantaro never noticed from between two books and places it onto the floor. He does the same thing with a camera further up, climbing up the library ladder so he is able to reach it. He cradles it gently as he climbs back down. Rantaro notices how the other two cameras never flashed when Kokichi went near them.

The leader then heads back to Rantaro and to his surprise, plucks the shot put ball easily out of his hands and picks up the flashing camera from the floor. 

“Sorry, Amami!” Kokichi says with his hands full. “I kinda need all of this stuff. Hope none of it had any sentimental value to you!”

Although nothing really did mean much to him, Rantaro admits he’s a little confused as to why the leader is taking it all. He also wonders why Kokichi needs all this stuff in the first place. 

“Are you coming?” Kokichi asks when he reaches the library door. He has finally noticed he can’t open it when his hands are full. “Amami! I can’t open the door!”

Really, he wants to be annoyed but for some reason, he finds Kokichi’s childish behaviour somewhat refreshing. Rantaro opens the door for him, holding it open with his hand as Kokichi steps through safely. He’s about the head back inside the library, when once again he is stopped by Kokichi’s yelling. 

“There’s plenty more doors I can’t open by myself!” Kokichi wails, stomping his foot. “Are you sure you aren’t a bully? You’re just going to let me struggle all by myself? That’s so mean!”

Rantaro figures he can come back to the library later. With a loud sigh, he follows Kokichi up the stairs. “Where are we going with all this, anyway?”

“Duh! To my room!” Kokichi tells him, shaking the cameras and ball in his arms. “All this stuff will probably be really important later!”

He takes Kokichi to his bedroom, opening the leaders door with ease. Kokichi lets out a loud sigh of relief as he dumps all the items onto his bed, his duvet pressing in from the pressure of the weight. 

“Phew! I bet I’m going to be as strong as Gonta after carrying all of that!” Kokichi pretends to show off his muscles. 

Rantaro can’t help but fondly roll his eyes.

“Thanks for your help, Amami!” Kokichi continues, slapping his hands together to get rid of any excess dust on them. “Though, I’m still surprised you want to be down in the library? Do you really want to be killed that badly?”

“I don’t think there will be any more shot put balls falling from the bookcases in there,” Rantaro tells him, hoping that Kokichi will appreciate his mild joke.

“You think shot put balls are the only thing you need to be scared of?” Kokichi’s face turns into something colder. Rantaro freezes. “Are you sure you want to be walking around on your own so often?”

“...”

“It’s obvious you’ve pissed off the wrong person,” Kokichi continues, not once looking away from Rantaro. “Though, I guess the real question is, what have you done to upset someone so much? Or is it, that you’ve pissed off someone really important?”

“...”

“Being excluded from receiving your memory and someone breaking into your room,” Kokichi counts his fingers. “It looks like you’ve really outdone yourself this time. Say, Amami? Is there something you know that we all don’t?”

“...”

“...”

“...”

“...so that’s your answer.”

Kokichi’s face finally melts away back into a smile, his features all softening into a more normal looking face. Rantaro doesn’t know how he can pull such a sinister face one minute and then such an innocent one the next. 

“Well, you’re being boring!” Kokichi announces loudly. “I guess I’ll go find someone else to play with? Perhaps Momota is around somewhere!”

“...”

“That’s a cue for you to leave,” Kokichi still smiles. “Bye bye! Go and find someone else to play with! Maybe if you’re lucky, Akamatsu will be around?”

Rantaro wordlessly walks out of the room, feeling Kokichi’s eyes on him the entire time. 

\---

Rantaro soon realises that Kokichi’s right as soon as he’s back upstairs. He’s all on his own and he feels like anyone can get him at any moment. He glances around, dismayed by the lack of students. All he can see are the leaves and weeds that grow from the floors and crawl up the walls. It makes him think harder. 

Where are they?

“Hey.”

Rantaro jolts. He notices Ryoma standing next to him, chewing on a candy stick with a content look on his face.

“Ah, Hoshi!” Rantaro forces himself to smile. “I didn’t see you there!”

“I gathered, sorry for scaring you,” Ryoma apologises. There’s something about Ryoma that’s rather endearing. Perhaps it’s his blunt way of saying things. He certainly has no patience for Kokichi and one of the few in the academy who can shut the kid down rather quickly. 

“It’s fine,” Rantaro truthfully responds.

“Momota wanted to play tennis in my lab, I think he’s up there if you want to find someone,” Ryoma tells him. The tennis player makes no move to go upstairs to his lab.

Rantaro raises an eyebrow. “Aren’t you going to meet him up there then?”

“No.” Well, at least he’s always brutally honest. “I’ve given up playing tennis. I doubt my skills are what he’s imagining them to be.”

“There’s no harm in trying.”

“There’s also ho harm in not trying,” Ryoma tiredly sighs. “And Momota is like a giant puppy. I don’t think I can deal with him right now.”

“Well, if you insist.” Rantaro secretly feels bad the oblivious astronaut. He wonders how long Kaito will wait in the lab for before realising Ryoma isn’t coming up to meet him. 

“I was thinking of just going back to bed,” Ryoma admits out of the blue. “The whole day feels like it’s just been dragging on.” Rantaro agrees internally. “Though, that does remind me. Saihara mentioned during lunch that your bedroom door is broken. What are you going to do?”

Honestly, Rantaro hasn’t thought that far ahead. He’s still getting over the fact that someone had broken into his room in the first place. It’s clear that they were looking for something and when they didn’t find what they were looking for, decided to scare Rantaro instead by putting the knife into his pillow. He admits, the scare tactic did work but now he just feels wary. He’s also going to have to sort his room out later and fix the lock on his door. There’s no way he’s going to bed without locking his door.

“I don’t really know yet,” Rantaro runs a hand down his face. “I’m hoping at least I can fix the door.”

“Maybe you’ll find something in the warehouse?”

Rantaro had completely forgotten about the warehouse. He feels a small amount of hope blossom in his chest, battling against his anxiety. 

“Thank you, Hoshi. I can’t believe I didn’t think about that myself!”

Ryoma pulls on his hat. “You’ve had a long day, kid. I’m not gonna judge you.”

“You can come look with me, if you’d like,” Rantaro offers.

Surprise covers Ryoma’s face before it straightens back into his usual stoic look. “I guess it’ll be quicker with two people looking.”

The two head over to the storage room. Rantaro realises he’s actually yet to explore the place. For the first couple of days, he had been so focused on trying to expose the mastermind, he forgot to really take a look around the school. His eyes roam around the room in fascination. There’s so many shelves in here that all melt together into a blue blur if you look for too long.

When he spots the box full of shot put balls, he pauses. 

No, he can’t keep thinking about what ifs.

He joins Ryoma with searching for locks. They end up going further and further into the room and it’s only near the back when their luck starts to pick up. Ryoma finds a box full of screws and a screwdriver. After that, Rantaro ends up finding another box that is full of door locks. He holds the box in his hands. He wishes that he could just put all of them on his door.

“Do-you-need-assistance?”

Monodam stands besides the two, his metal paws held together.

“Not really,” Ryoma gruffly responds. “We’re okay replacing his door lock, right?”

“That-will-be-fine. If-it-helps-you-to-get-along.”

Monodam reaches his metal paws out, gesturing for the box of door locks and the screws. Confused, Rantaro hands over his box easily. 

“No-need-to-worry-about-fixing-the-door-yourself. That-will-be-done-by-us.”

Ryoma raises an eyebrow as he hands over the box of screws. “Aren’t you mad that the door got broken in the first place?”

“...”

Monodam silently shuffles away, offering no response.

“Well, I guess that’s your room being sorted,” Ryoma says.

There’s a small amount of relief to Ryoma’s words. There’s even more relief when Ryoma offers to stay with him until they find someone else, which ends up being quicker than Rantaro expects when he spots Kirumi heading towards the dorm carrying a basket that’s stacked up high. The two follow after her, heading into the dormitories. Kirumi puts the basket down outside of Rantaro’s bedroom door and peers into the room.

“Hello, Tojo,” Rantaro makes himself known.

Kirumi’s hands are held together in front of her when she responds. “Amami, I was just looking for you. Saihara informed me that it’s okay to clean your bedroom, of course, if that is okay with you?”

“Ah, Tojo, you don’t need to do that!” Rantaro feels a little guilty. He spots the basket and sees that it’s full of bedding, new pillows and other cleaning products.

“Nonsense,” she responds briskly. “It’s important to me that you feel comfortable in your room. Even if we do end up staying here for a short amount of time, I want to make everyone feel at least at ease as much as I can. A comfortable bedding does wonders for your mood.”

“It’s fine! I can just sort it out myself,” Rantaro says.

Ryoma shakes his head as he heads to his own bedroom. 

“I don’t think you’re going to win this battle,” he tells him before closing his bedroom door. 

“Although I wouldn’t refer this as a battle, he is correct,” Kirumi says. “I find it enjoyable to do these sorts of activities. I do not mind cooking and cleaning for everyone while we are here.”

“At least let me help,” Rantaro plucks the basket up from the floor, stumbling with surprise at the weight of it. 

“If that’s what you want,” Kirumi says. Is it just Rantaro or does he notice a little bit of amusement in Kirumi’s eyes when she spots him buckling under the weight of the basket? 

He carries the basket into the bedroom, arms straining the entire time. 

\---

His bedroom is back to normal by the time night rolls around. Kirumi had done a good job of cleaning up his room. She had looked like a whirlwind as she sorted the bedroom out, changing the bedding with ease, putting everything back into their rightful places, clearing up all the feathers from the floor. She had even removed the knife from the room and after a brief look over it, said she recognised it from the kitchen and told Rantaro that she would take it back there.

Monodam had too joined them during the cleaning session, putting the door lock onto the door for him. 

It was almost as if his room had never been touched in the first place. 

He feels the anxiety coming back to him as he settles for the night, curled up on his bed, his monopad held to his chest. It’s like he’s inhaling smoke instead of air, it fills his chest and squeezes his lungs, choking and choking until there’s nothing left. He takes a deep breath and looks down at his monopad. It’s still there.

The knocking at his door scares him a little more than he wants to admit. There’s a solid three knocks then a pause. Then, there’s another solid three knocks. Rantaro slips his monopad under his pillow before creeping over to his door, taking a deep breath before unlocking it and pulling it open. 

He doesn’t expect to see Gonta with a pillow under his arm, smiling brightly at him. 

“Gonta hopes he not disturbing you!” Gonta says.

“Not at all, Gokuhara.”

“Friends can call Gonta Gonta!”

“Okay...um, Gonta.”

Gonta looks pleased with himself. He hugs the white pillow. “Gonta worry about Amami and about room so Gonta thinks he sleep here tonight!”

“In my bedroom?” Rantaro asks.

Nodding, Gonta continues. “If Gonta stay here, if anyone try to come in, Gonta can protect Amami!”

Rantaro’s heart melts at Gonta’s logic. He’s really in no position to say no. Gonta’s eyes shine so innocently as he holds onto the comically small pillow, his big hands easily swamping the size of it. Although there is that small nagging, persistent thought that echoes around his head telling him no, don’t trust anyone, he ignores it. Maybe it’s because this is Gonta who wants to help him and Gonta really doesn’t seem like he’s the mastermind. Also, knowing that someone like Gonta will be around to protect him if something goes wrong, Rantaro feels a little more at ease.

He looks back into his room. “I don’t see there being a problem with that. I’ll just make up the couch so I can-”

Gonta looks absolutely distraught. “No! Gonta guest so Gonta stay on couch! Gonta want to be gentlemen and gentlemen always take couch!”

“As gentlemanly as that is,” Rantaro softly tells him, “you won’t be able to fit on the couch.”

“Oh no!” Gonta is clearly devastated.

Rantaro tries to cheer him up. “Tojo helped sort my room out today so I’m sure that the couch will be fine to sleep on!”

“Oh, Gonta glad!”

Rantaro is about the lock the door when he spots two figures outside of the dorms. He narrows his eyes, but is unable to make out who they are due to how far away they are and the darkness that cloaks them. 

“Gonta saw Momota and Akamatsu head outside! Momota said they gonna train!”

“Ah,” Rantaro spares the two one last look before closing his door. “As long as they’re not going to cause any trouble.”

Rantaro transfers his own pillow and monopad over to his bed, sliding his secret monopad into the pillowcase as he does so. Gonta clearly doesn’t notice and smiles easily as he lies down onto Rantaro’s bed, the bed squeaking loudly under his weight. Gonta’s feet dangle almost comically over the side of the bed.

The couch isn’t too uncomfortable. Rantaro fits on top of it easily and thankfully he isn’t too long for the couch. He shuffles around to get himself comfortable, pulling a blanket that he found in his closet over himself for warmth. 

“Goodnight, Amami!”

“Night, Gonta.”

Rantaro falls asleep slowly, listening to Gonta’s loud breathing for comfort.

The two of them stay asleep the entire time when a group of small bears enter the bedroom with new monopads in hand.


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you so much for the comments! I'm still not used to how this site works so I'm still figuring out how to respond to them :,) but I have read them and I'm really grateful!!

Rantaro awakes to the sound of Gonta falling out of the bed and landing on the floor with a loud thump. He winces for the tall gentleman, who rubs his head and blinks around wildly before reaching for his glasses that are on top of the bed stand. In the process of grabbing the glasses, something else falls onto the floor and into Gonta’s lap.

“Oh, what this?” Gonta says as he holds up a colourful tablet. 

A lump builds up in Rantaro’s throat momentarily. Another tablet? He checks under his pillow, his heartbeat calming down when he feels both of his own tablets. His fear melts into confusion at the new tablet in Gonta’s hands. 

“Is that not yours, Gonta?” Rantaro asks, sitting up on the couch, his blanket sliding down from his shoulders and pooling around his waist. 

Gonta shakes his head as he pulls himself up back onto the bed, the mattress pressing down firmly under his weight. “No, Gonta tablet in his pocket! Is this not yours?”

Rantaro stares at it and swallows. What if Monokuma had given him another perk during the night? If that is the case, then he’ll have the disadvantage of the fact Gonta knows he has another tablet. Whilst he should turn it on the check what is on the tablet, he would rather do that on his own and not in the company of others. 

For now, he’s sure Gonta will keep quiet. Rantaro is sure that he’ll be able to convince him to not mention anything about the tablet until he knows what’s on it. 

“I’m not really sure whose it is,” Rantaro says, “but I guess someone put it in here for me.”

“Ah, so it is yours!” Gonta says and happily hands the tablet over to Rantaro.

Rantaro looks down at it and his own reflection shows on the dark monitor, mirroring his worried expression. 

“But,” Rantaro continues, “can we just keep this between us two just for now? If it’s some sort of motive that Monokuma is trying to make us fall for, I think it’ll be better to keep it between the two of us. We wouldn’t want to cause a panic, would we?”

Gonta goes quiet before his eyes light up. “Oh! That make sense! Gonta understand! Gonta keep quiet!”

Rantaro tightly smiles. “Thank you.”

He slips the other monopad under the pillow and gets ready, slipping on a new set of clothing and folding up his nightwear. He puts all three of his monopads into a pocket discreetly and heads out of the room with Gonta.

The monopads knock together in his pockets as the two head towards the academy, perhaps being the first ones up as they don’t run into anyone on the way there. As per usual, the sun shines through the glass walls. It’s almost mocking.

Kirumi greets the two of them with a small bow when they arrive at the dining hall. The table has already been set up with shiny cutlery and plates and bowls. There is also a teapot at the centre of the table that has steam pouring from the spout.

“Good morning, Gokuhara, Amami,” Kirumi says, holding her hands together. “I’ll be making a wide selection of breakfast this morning. It shouldn’t take too much longer if you are both hungry.”

“Wow! Tojo amazing!” Gonta praises, his eyes curled up into two smiles. 

Kirumi doesn’t seem too surprised by the compliment but gives Gonta a small smile. “It’s really nothing. As a maid I dedicate my life to make all the others around me as comfortable as possible. Which reminds me, Amami? Did you sleep well last night? If any materials are not to your liking I can make new pillow cases or find new blankets for you.”

“Actually,” Rantaro scratches the back of his head, “Gonta slept in my bed last night. He thought that it would be safer if he slept in my bedroom with me in case someone came in during the night.”

“Is that so?” Kirumi asks. “Then perhaps did one of you see something during the night?”

“Nope! Gonta sleep all night!” 

Rantaro sweats. That really didn’t seem that reassuring, especially since Gonta was supposed to be protecting him. “I slept all night too.”

“I see,” Kirumi holds a hand to her chin. “Then by any chance did either of you receive an additional monopad? I found one on my coffee table this morning.”

“You did?” Rantaro asks. He feels a little better, knowing that probably everyone now has one. “I wasn’t going to say anything but there was one in my room too.”

“Gonta found it on table!” Gonta says. “But, there only one in room! Maybe Gonta has one in his room?”

“Perhaps you should find out?” Kirumi suggests. “It would be unfortunate if someone were to steal it.”

“Got it!” Gonta speeds out of the room, almost knocking over Tsumugi who squeals and ducks out of the way.

“Good morning, Shirogane,” Kirumi says when she notices the blue haired girl. “I am correct that you got a new monopad during the night too?”

“So you both got one too?” Tsumugi asks. She pulls out her own colourful monopad from her inside blazer pocket. “I haven’t turned it on yet…”

“Neither have I,” Rantaro admits.

Kirumi nods in agreement. “I thought it would be better for all of us to discuss what to do with them in case it’s another motive.”

“You think it’s another motive?” Tsumugi asks, sweating a little. “Oh dear.”

“Don’t worry,” Rantaro reassures her. “As long as we don’t watch them, they can’t be used as a motive.”

Tsumugi perks up a little. “I guess so!”

The two sat down at the table together, Rantaro pouring out tea for both of them. Tsumugi gratefully wraps both hands around the cup and takes a long sip of her drink, her eyes fluttering closed as fog builds up on her glasses. 

“Did you manage to sleep okay?” Tsumugi asks him, placing her cup back down on the table.

“I suppose so.”

“That’s good! I was worried something might’ve happened to you during the night because of all the things that have been happening…”

“Don’t worry,” Rantaro says, “Gonta offered to stay with me during the night. I think he was worried too.”

“Oh!” Tsumugi looks a little surprised before she clasps her hands together. “That’s so nice of him! He really is a gentleman! Better than plain old me.”

The two sit in a comfortable silence as more people come shuffling in to the dining room, some yawning loudly as they sit down and others loudly busting through the doors that clatter loudly against the wall each time. 

When Kaito bursts into the room, he has the colourful monopad in his hands. 

“Hey, did anyone else get one of these?” He asks loudly, slamming the small tablet onto the table and causing the cutlery to bounce into each other.

“I did,” Himiko says, pulling a tablet out of her jacket pocket. “But I don’t think it’s mine.”

“You turned yours on?” Tsumugi asks.

“Yeah,” Himiko replies. “It was just a video.”

“I got a video too,” Korekiyo confirms with a nod. “I found the tablet to be too interesting to ignore. It seems I too also got the wrong video.”

“Yeah, so did I!” Kaito says, his hands holding his tablet tightly. “Although I’m pretty sure it’s wrong! They put the wrong talent on it!”

Rantaro chokes on his tea as it goes down his throat. Tsumugi frets next to him, patting his back firmly.

From across the room, a different person glares daggers at Kaito.

“So are the tablets lying?” Tenko asks.

“No, no, no!” Monokuma voice calls out as he walks through the doors. “I spent a long time putting those tablets together! Everything that’s on them is 100% true!”

“I see, I see,” Angie hums. “But why do we have the wrong tablets?”

Monokuma blinks. “Eh?”

“It seems there may have been a mix up whilst distributing the tablets,” Kirumi informs him. “Although, I truly cannot say. Not all of us are present to say whose tablet they got and some of us haven’t watched them.”

“You haven’t watched them?” Monokuma goes pale. “I really put a lot of work into them!”

“Who cares! I’m pretty sure they’re false anyway!” Kaito retorts, holding up his tablet. “You got the talent wrong on this one!”

Monokuma growls, holding up a sharp paw and revealing his spiky claws. “I’ve already said none of them are wrong!”

“But...” Kaito pouts, looking uncharacteristically unsure of himself. 

The door opens and Miu stumbles into the room with an excited Kokichi hanging from her arm. The two bicker loudly as they head to the table, either completely oblivious of everyone else in the room or not caring of their presence.

“Get off me you leech!” Miu wails, flailing her arms around. “You can’t handle a body of a goddess!”

“Okay!” Kokichi pulls himself away quickly, which causes Miu to topple over onto the floor. Kirumi quickly whisks over to help.

“You little shit!” Miu screeches, pulling on her skirt to make sure she stays covered.

Kokichi snickers as he takes his seat next to Rantaro. The leader ignores him, favouring to make a cup of tea instead, filling the cup up more with sugar than with liquid.

“Hey, degenerate!” Tenko yells. “Did you get a tablet this morning?”

“You mean this?” Kokichi says, pulling out his colourful tablet. “I haven’t watched it yet!”

“Perhaps it’s for the best you don’t,” Kirumi informs him. “It seems we have been given a new motive. The less people who watch the tablets, the better.”

“W-Wait,” Miu cuts in. “We were given more tablets?”

“Did you not get one?” Korekiyo asks her.

“Uh, I-I forgot to check,” Miu says truthfully. “Yeah, that’s right! I was busy getting ready. Although most of my beauty is natural, I still like to add a little extra.”

“A little extra of what? Ugliness?” Kokichi smirks as Miu groans.

“Ouma, knock it off!” Kaito yells at him. “This is serious!”

“I’m sure I have one in my room!” Miu says, pushing away from her seat and heading towards the door with wobbly legs. “I just missed it! You virgins will see!” She takes another step forwards, unaware of the door opening and walks straight into Shuichi, who looks more than startled.

“I-Iruma!” He holds his hands up, eyes shut as she screams, pushing him away instantly. 

“What the fuck, Shittyhara!” Miu bellows, before a large grin takes over. “Oh, I see. Hah, you couldn’t help yourself! It’s not every day you get to see a body as great as mine! Okay, just this once I’ll let you have one squeeze!”

“No thank you,” Shuichi quickly ducks away, walking around her.

Miu sweats before scurrying away.

“She’s rather...peculiar,” Korekiyo muses.

“Hey, Saihara,” Kaito clamps a hand on one of Shuichi’s shoulders. “You get one of these?”

“Ah, yes,” Shuichi pulls his tablet from his pocket. “But, I didn’t know whether to watch it or not…”

“So he didn’t watch his either,” Tsumugi says.

“Were we supposed to?” Shuichi reluctantly asks.

“Yes!” Monokuma lets out a frustrated sigh. “That’s why I made them! Geez, youths these days are so ungrateful!”

“For now,” Kaito tells him, “if you haven’t watched it, don’t.”

As he says this, Ryoma, Gonta and Kaede all enter the room, being the last three people to arrive.

Kaito begins asking again at the same time Monokuma yells at everyone.

“So, it seems that myself, Shirogane, Amami, Harukawa, Saihara, Gokuhara and most likely Iruma haven’t watched their videos yet,” Kirumi concludes, her eyebrows furrowing. 

“And everyone who has watched their videos didn’t get their own?” Kaito adds on. “Huh.”

“My precious monokubs must’ve messed up whilst handing them out,” Monokuma sighs.

On cue, the monokubs all arrive.

“It was too dark to see!” Monophanie wails.

Monokid whacks her upside the head. “You were the one who was responsible for handing them out!”

“She tried her best!” Monotaro cuts in.

“Yeah, but now pops is mad at us,” Monosuke reminds him.

Monodam stays quiet.

“It doesn’t matter whose fault it was!” Monokuma says, paws flying up in the air. He pauses before his grins grows. “In fact, this might be even more interesting! Perhaps the mix up is a blessing in disguise!”

“What’s that supposed to mean?” Tenko asks. 

She’s completely ignored. Monokuma and the monokubs all leave together.

“So, another motive, huh,” Himiko sighs loudly. “What a pain.”  
“What should we do?” Tenko nervously asks, fingers pointing together. “Do we share the videos?”

Everyone looks at each other. Last time they struggled, they had turned to their leader. Now, as the students look over at Kaede, there’s even more uncertainty. Even Kaede looks flustered, looking down rather at the students.

“Is Akamatsu still our leader?” Kokichi asks loudly, checking his nails. “I don’t really know if I want someone who tries to kill people to lead us.”

“Cut it out!” Kaito quickly shoots back.

“I’m afraid he does have a point,” Kiyo tells him. 

“Didn’t we already go through this during the trial?” Tenko hisses at him. “Monokuma was just trying to make her look bad!”

“It did work,” Maki murmurs lowly.

“But Amami said he didn’t mind! Atua distinctly remembers that!” Angie says.

Rantaro coughs but doesn't say anything.

“Gonta want to trust friends!”

“But can you really trust her?” Kokichi asks him. 

“H-Huh?”

“Shut up!” Kaito retorts. “Gonta, don’t listen to him. He’s just trying to trick you!”

“What should we do?” Tsumugi timidly asks.

Kaito stares at her. “We don’t have to do anything! Kaede should still be our leader!”

“Kaede?” Kaede repeats to herself with wide eyes.

“Should she?” Maki argues. “You’re pretty stupid if you want to keep trusting her.”

“I don’t want to be killed,” Himiko says.

Tenko shakes her head. “Don’t worry, I’ll protect you! But...I don’t think Akamatsu will actually hurt any girls.”

“Girl, boy, in the end does it really matter?” Kokichi questions.

At this point, Miu finally stumbles back into the room with the monopad clutched tightly to her chest. “I found it!”

“Did you watch it?” Kirumi asks.

“N-No, not yet.”

“Good,” Ryoma says. “We think it’s for the best if we don’t.”

“So I spent all that time looking for no reason?” Miu wails, dropping the tablet on the floor. She startles and scoops it back up. Thankfully, it’s not damaged. 

“Hey, Iruma?” Kokichi calls. “What do you think? Should we let Akamatsu still be our leader?”

“Bakamatsu?” Miu says. “She tried to kill someone, right?”

Kokichi’s smug expression says it all.

A pair of hands slam down onto the table.

“Everyone!” Kaede shouts, her chest heaving. 

“Oh?” Kiyo tilts his head to the side.

“I…” Kaede looks over to Kaito, who gives her a thumbs up. She clears her throat. “I want you all to give me a second chance!”

“A second chance?” Kirumi parrots.

Kaede nods. “I know that I let you all down,” she says. “Most of all, I let you down, Amami. You were just trying to help us all but I guess your way was safer.”

Rantaro stays quiet but listens nonetheless.

“A-And Saihara!” The detective’s hands shake as he looks up. “I betrayed your trust by sabotaging your plan. You trusted me with something so important and I went behind your back and…” Kaede takes a deep breath. “I almost killed Amami in the process. I didn’t think my plan through properly and someone almost got really hurt in the process. I’m so sorry, both of you.”

Kaede bows down lowly, her hair pooling onto the table. Both Shuichi and Rantaro look at her and then at each other. 

“Akamatsu,” Shuichi says, his voice wet. He tugs on his hat but doesn’t say anything else.

Rantaro looks at her. He can see the slight tremors her body gives, her arms shaking ever so slightly. Her hands are curled in together, her fingernails most likely cutting into her palms. Her posture screams that she’s sorry along with her words. He glances over a Kaito. Did he have anything to do with this? Gonta had mentioned that the two of them were outside together last night. Did Kaito encourage her to do this? 

“Stop that,” Rantaro hears himself say. He watches Kaede slowly straighten herself out, her eyes startled. He holds a firm expression, his eyes meeting hers angrily before he sighs loudly, feeling all of his tension leave his body. “I accept your apology.”

Kaede’s eyes go wider than he’s ever seen them go before. Tears start to form in them. “Amami…”

“But,” he holds up a finger. “If you want to be our leader again, you’re going to have to prove to us that we can trust you.”

“Of course, anything!” Kaede agrees. “I promise, I won’t let any of you down! Not again!”

“Just like that, huh?” Kokichi says quietly next to him so that no one else can hear.

Rantaro ignores him. 

“So, what about the rest of you!” Kaito pounds his fists together. “We’ll all be stronger if we unite together! We worked well before with Kaede leading us! I couldn’t think of anyone better as our leader!”

“Hey, I so happen to specialise in being a leader!” Kokichi appeals, grinning.

“You lie all the time,” Tsumugi reminds him. 

Kokichi cackles but doesn’t respond.

“Of course I want to keep Akamatsu as our leader!” Tenko cheers.

“Atua thinks that is for the best,” Angie nods.

“Gonta support all friends!”

“I’m too tired to care…”

Ryoma’s face remains neutral. “It doesn’t really matter to me.”

“This really is a strange turn of events,” Kiyo rubs his chin. 

“If we all agree that we’ll keep her as our leader,” Kirumi says, “then I’ll accept Akamatsu.”

“Well, as long as she doesn’t knock me out with her tits, we shouldn’t have a problem,” Miu chortles.

“You’re all just going to forgive her just like that?” Maki frowns, crossing her arms.

Kaito sighs. “Come on, Harukawa-”

“I want no part in this,” she spits. “I only came down to ask Tojo if she can bring me my meals anyway. I’ve stayed here too long already.”

“Harukawa,” Kaede says, “I know that I messed up but-”

“But what?” Maki snaps. “We’re all just going to pretend to ignore what happened? Your group will just fall apart if you all keep trusting each other blindly.”

“What do you mean by your group?” Kaito asks.

Maki shakes her head. “Does it really matter? I’m not apart of it anyway. I don’t want to be either.”

“Hey, wai-” Tsumugi’s voice falls on deaf ears as Maki stalks out of the room, her pigtails bouncing as she leaves. 

“What’s her problem?” Ryoma mutters.

“I don’t know, but I’ll definitely be talking to her later,” Kaito confirms, rubbing his nose. “She has no reason to be so hostile!”

“It’s fine, Momota,” Kaede tells him. “I just have to prove myself!”

Kaito grins at her. “Yeah, you’re right! Now, what should we do about these videos?”

“Well,” Kaede nervously looks around. “Most of us have already watched the videos, right?”

“More people than not,” Kirumi reminds her. 

Kaede pauses. “Well, it’s probably Monokuma’s intention for us to fall victim to the videos. The video I watched...wasn’t good.”

“From what I gathered,” Kiyo says, “Monokuma is trying to lure one of us into murder by revealing something rather undesirable to each of us. The video I watched was not positive either.”

“I’m still pretty sure my video is wrong,” Kaito frowns. “The talent was wrong!”

“Eh, whose video did you get, Momota?” Kokichi asks.

Rantaro feels a cold sweat settle over him. 

“That’s none of your business!” Kaito defensively responds. “Besides, wouldn’t it be problematic if we all told each other whose video we have?”

“Why would that be a problem?” Miu asks, rocking on her chair.

“What he means is,” Kaede continues, “if we all say whose video we have, we may be putting ourselves at risk. The contents of the videos are pretty dangerous from what I’ve gathered. If someone were desperate enough to want to watch their own…”

“Then they might kill someone for their video, right?” Tsumugi finishes.

Kaede nods. “Which is what we don’t want.”

“So are you saying that we should just ignore the videos?” Angie suggests.

“I think that would be for the best,” Kirumi replies.

Ryoma puts his hand down onto the table. “Now hold on a second, that’s not fair.”

“What isn’t fair?” Himiko asks.

“The videos,” Ryoma says. “More than half of us have watched the videos. Some people have already seen other people’s motives. It’ll put some people at a disadvantage, especially if someone saw something really bad on the video. What if someone becomes a target because of their video?”

“I...never thought of that,” Kaede admits.

“But if we watch the videos, we’ll be falling right into Monokuma’s trap!” Tenko bristles. “That’s the complete opposite of what we want!”

“It seems we have quite the problem,” Kirumi sorts her skirts out.

“We won’t have a problem if we just all watch them together!” Kokichi blurts out.

Rantaro looks down at the smaller boy. He’s leaning back in his chair, hands tucked behind his head and looking like the definition of relaxed. 

“Watch them together?” Tsumugi adjusts her glasses. “Wouldn’t that be dangerous?”

“Nuh uh!” Kokichi continues. “If we watch them all together, then we’ll all know if we need to be wary of someone!”

“I bet you just want to watch all the videos for your own gain,” Himiko mutters, putting her head on the table. 

“She’s probably right!” Tenko confirms. 

Kokichi starts to blink back tears. “Is it so hard to believe that I only have the group at heart?”

“Yes,” Kaito responds instantly.

“Hey, Saihara!” Kokichi latches onto the detective’s arm. “You’ve been quiet! What do you think we should do?”

“Huh?” Shuichi rocks backwards as he takes on a fair amount of Kokichi’s weight. “Um, well…I understand where both sides are coming from…”

“It seems we just can’t decide,” Kiyo points out. “How interesting.”

“How is it interesting?” Miu yells at him. “It’s fucking stupid, that’s what! I say we all just watch the video we have already! Then it’s fair!”

“What do you mean?” Kirumi inquires.

Miu huffs. “Geez, do I have to spell everything out for you idiots? I mean that most of us have already seen the video they received! There really is no harm in the rest of us watching our own videos. It wouldn’t be fair otherwise!”

“The people who haven’t seen their videos are at a disadvantage,” Tsumugi agrees.

“But what if someone receives their own video?” Tenko asks. “Wouldn’t that be dangerous?”

“Most people haven’t received their own videos,” Kaede reminds her. “The chances of someone getting their own now would be really low.”

“I still think we should watch them all together,” Kokichi reminds everyone.

“I’d rather not,” Rantaro responds to him. 

“Oh?” Kokichi smirks. “Do you have something to hide?”

“Of course I don’t,” Rantaro says, crossing his arms.

“Just ignore him,” Kaito says. “He’s going to be no help.”

Kaede clears her throat. “Well as of right how, I’m the leader. For now...we just keep the videos to ourselves. I can’t stop any of you watching them but it would be better to not share them too much.”

“Atua thinks that’s reasonable!” Angie chirps, hands clasped together. 

“I guess so,” Ryoma murmurs. 

“I still think there’s something wrong with my video,” Kaito says.

Rantaro sweats.

“If that’s what we’re agreeing to do,” Kirumi closes her eyes.

“If that’s everything, can we get back to breakfast?” Himiko asks. “I’m starving.”

\---

Rantaro watches the video in his room. His door is locked and he is sat crossed legged on his bed, a blanket draped over his shoulders for comfort. It reminds him of the times when he had made forts for all of his sisters. Since he has twelve of them, the forts tended to be rather large and took a while to create. However, in the end it was always worth it to see the smiles on their faces.

He desperately wants to be at an advantage. It was like Miu said, if people didn’t watch the video they were given, they’d be at a disadvantage. What if the video reveals someone is actually quite dangerous? Or what if the video reveals something that could be considered a really dangerous motive?

He presses the button down to turn on the monopad and it flickers to life. 

Unfortunately, he doesn’t get his own video. From the looks of things, there’s a high chance that Kaito has his video. He really needs to talk to the astronaut later and hopefully clear things up if he needs to. He could always act dumb if he needed to.

The words Tojo Kirumi: Ultimate Maid light up the screen. The entire video is rather wild from start to finish. The video tells Rantaro how Kirumi is actually helping the Prime Minister out and could actually be considered the true Prime Minister. He’s quiet as he watches through the entire video. Shit. 

“Is Tojo really the Prime Minister?” Rantaro thinks to himself. He puts the monopad back down onto his bed. 

Either the video is true or it could be like Kaito said, completely false. Rantaro secretly hopes that the video is false. If Kirumi saw this video...there would be a high chance that she would want to leave to go back to helping her country. It would be selfish to withhold the video from her. Yet...he also knows that Kirumi would want to help everyone at the school too. 

“If Tojo is as important as the video says,” Rantaro continues to think, “then it’s important to keep her alive. I’m also sure if she sees her video she might do something drastic to help her people. Although...would it be fair for all of us to give up our lives for her? I...want to live.”

Rantaro puts the video into his pocket with all his other monopads with zero intentions of sharing it at all.

\---

It doesn’t take long until Rantaro finds someone to hang out with for the day. He’s outside when snatches up his hand. It takes all of his willpower to not take his hand back. 

“Yoo hoo! Atua said that you would be out here!”

Angie happily bobs her head from side to side, her silver hair swaying lightly. She smiles brightly. Rantaro wonders what goes through her head.

“Ah, good afternoon, Yonaga.”

“Angie is just fine!” Angie tells him, pulling out her paint brush. “Everyone back at my village called me Angie.”

“Okay, Angie,” Rantaro says. He can easily say her name.

“Hooray!” She clasps her hands together. “I’m glad that I found you! Atua says that I must do something urgent and it would be divine to have you join me!”

“Is something wrong?” Rantaro asks as Angie grabs onto his hand and tugs him inside the school. He almost trips up the stairs as he does so.

Angie giggles. “Of course not!”

“Then what’s so urgent?”

She stops outside of the room where prizes are won. Rantaro has yet to actually win anything from the room but has a fair amount of coins from where he’s accidentally bumped into things. He’s not really sure where the coins come from but sees them on the floor after he’s knocked his hip on a table or moved a piece of furniture too much. 

“I’ve ran out of coins!” Angie announces, her voice just a little sad. “And Atua says that there’s awesome prizes in the machine that would help me out! You have coins, correct?”

Rantaro can see where she’s going with this. “Do you want me to try and win you a prize?”

“Oh? Do you perhaps channel the divine too?” Angie asks, excited. “Atua says he’d be grateful for your help! Perhaps a blood donation?”

“Ah, not today.”

“What a shame. Perhaps a different day?”

“Maybe.”

He puts a coin in the machine and a drink comes out.

“Oh! Boba tea! How delicious!” Rantaro hands over the drink and Angie happily sips on it.

He slips in another coin and this time a sukiyaki caramel falls out. He puts it on the table next to him. The next thing that falls out is a wearable blanket. Rantaro runs his thumb across the warm fabric before placing it next to the caramel.

“Aw man, you have really bad luck!” Angie says. Despite her words, she still smiles next to him. “Could I have a go?”

“Sure,” Rantaro says, handing her a handful of coins.

One after another she slots the coins in. Milk puzzle. Sewing kit. A music sheet. Gold origami (Angie slides this into her coat pocket). Another boba tea which Rantaro takes and sips on whilst watching Angie in amusement. Bird food.

Angie finally makes an excited noise when a sketchbook falls out. She catches the book and holds it up proudly for Rantaro to see. “We’ve been blessed! How divine!”

A lightbulb flickers to life above Rantaro’s head. “Angie, were you looking for art supplies?”

“But of course!” Angie confirms. “Atua said this would be the best place to look for some! I’ve looked around the entire academy for stuff and couldn’t find a single thing! Quite sad, really.”

“Well, I’m glad I could help,” Rantaro says.

Angie bounces cheerfully before putting in a few more coins. An art manakin falls out and Angie all but cheers rather loudly, putting it down next to her sketchbook. A set of rock paper scissor cards comes out next. 

“Aw man, that’s everything,” Angie finally says. She picks up the sketchbook and manakin. “Atua thanks you for your kind donation. Next time, he’d really appreciate your blood!”

“Not today,” Rantaro pales, curling away a little.

Angie ignores him. “Come! We must go outside now! You can be my model for my latest piece!”

“But what about the other things?” Rantaro glances at the other items that are sprawled across the table. He’s sure that they’ll be useful later on. 

On cue, the door creaks open and the pink monokub slides into the room. 

“Don’t worry! I’ll sort that out!” Monophanie tells them, waddling over to the items and picking them up one by one. For a small bear, it’s surprising how efficient she is. She doesn’t drop a single item as she heads out of the room, practically running with everything she has.

Angie’s grip on his wrist is tight as she tugs him outside and down near the bottom area. Rantaro spies the red door that leads to the trial room as well as Miu’s lab. He wonders if she’s inside. Angie drops the sketchbook onto the floor but tucks the manakin into her pocket. 

“Now!” Angie says, “stand like this!” She pulls a funny pose, standing only on one leg with her arms swinging out in random directions.

Rantaro wobbles as he tries to mimic her. When he finally gets into the position that satisfies Angie, she tells him to hold it. He sweats heavily as he feels his ankle start to ache, his arms twitching involuntarily as he tries to keep still. 

Angie happily sits on the floor in front of him, sketching wildly and quickly. When she’s done with her first picture, she rips it from the sketchbook and it flutters onto the floor next to her. She instantly starts on the next picture, this time using her paintbrush to paint across the page. Her movements are erratic and completely random, her hand a blur as she drags the paintbrush across the paper. Had she even lifted her hand up from it?

He lets out a helpless yelp as he stumbles, one of his feet slamming onto the floor. He quickly lifts it up before Angie notices.

“Amami? What on earth are you doing?”

Korekiyo heads down the steps, his eyebrows raised as he looks over at him. He’s failed to spot Angie, who doesn’t look up once from her sketchbook.

“I’m being a model,” Rantaro informs him, his body flailing. His foot is starting to really hurt now.

“Interesting,” Kiyo starts to circle around him. 

“Not really,” Rantaro sweats under his gaze. One of his hands nearly smack the anthropologist, who ducks out of the way gracefully. 

Angie’s head snaps up. “Oh, Kiyo! Atua didn’t expect another visitor!”

“I was simply passing by,” Kiyo informs her. “I was taking a pleasant stroll outside when I spotted Amami pulling a rather odd pose. I couldn’t help but come down to investigate.”

“He’s being my model!” Angie tells him. “In fact, you should model for me too!”

“Oh? I suppose I wouldn’t be against that,” Kiyo agrees straight away. “Tell me, should I copy the same pose as Amami?”

“Of course!”

Rantaro is almost jealous of how Kiyo quickly mimics his pose with ease, his arms outstretched, long legs straight and head thrown back. Kiyo almost looks like he’s enjoying this.

Rantaro spends the rest of the afternoon posing with Korekiyo and Angie, the girl happily skipping off on her own once she’s done. Rantaro heads back to his own room too.

\---

From a different part of the academy, Kaito pouts as he sits on a chair.

“I still can’t believe he never turned up yesterday!”

Kaede giggles at him as her fingers fly across her piano, hitting all of the right keys one by one. “Perhaps Hoshi just forgot?”

“Tsk, he doesn’t seem like the type to forget,” Kaito claims, crossing his arms with a frown. Despite Kaede playing calming music, he’s still in a funk. “I spent all afternoon waiting for him!”

Kaede doesn’t answer him this time, opting to close her eyes and sway her body along to the sound of the piano. There’s a reason why she became the Ultimate Pianist, her playing is outmatched. Her earliest memories are of her playing the piano. In fact, she can’t remember a memory where she hasn’t been playing a piano or has no involvement with pianos. She doesn’t know why she chose a piano to play in particular but she’s glad she did. The instrument never fails to cheer her up, even now as she plays pretty tunes in her lab. 

Kaito finally goes quiet as he allows Kaede to finish her song, which only takes a couple of minutes before she hits the last key. He offers her a grin of support and claps when she’s finished. She smiles back at him.

“How did you get so good at playing anyway?” Kaito asks, looking genuinely curious. 

Kaede tucks a piece of hair behind her ear. “I’ve been playing ever since I was a little kid. The moment I saw a piano I just knew I wanted to play one!”

“That’s pretty cool,” Kaito responds. “I guess I’m the same about space.”

“That’s right, you’re the Ultimate Astronaut!” 

“Not just the Ultimate Astronaut!” Kaito reminds her. “I’m Kaito Momota, Luminary of the Stars!”

Kaede giggles. “You must be really passionate about space, huh?”

“Yeah! I love everything to do with space!” Kaito tells her. “My grandparents got me a telescope when I was little and being able to see all those stars up close…” Kaito’s expression goes dreamy. “I knew one day I had to see them in person!”

“And one day you will,” Kaede reassures him. “We’ll all leave this place together!”

Kaito pounds his fists together. “That’s the spirit! I knew I could trust you to be my sidekick.”

“Ah, yeah,” Kaede looks down at her piano. “About last night...thank you for encouraging me.”

“Well,” Kaito rubs his nose, “I couldn’t just let you mope around all the time, could I? Besides, I believe in you! You just needed that little push to get yourself back onto your feet again. I knew everyone would come around eventually.”

Kaede’s smile falls. “But...still. I hope I’m doing the right thing with the monopads.”

“Of course you are!” Kaito reassures her. “It’s not your fault if everyone had already watched them. What’s important now is to help everyone with them! Hopefully, someone will speak out about the videos if they get a really weird one.”

“Don’t you think that your one is false?” Kaede asks him.

Kaito nods firmly. “I’m pretty sure Monokuma is trying to screw us around. He got the talent completely wrong on the video I got! Too bad that he can’t trick me!”

“Whose video did you get anyway?”

“Well-”

They both jump when the door to Kaede’s lab creaks open slightly. A pale hand reaches in and quickly swipes Kaede’s backpack, which had been left by the door. The hand leaves as soon as it arrives. Kaito and Kaede spring up immediately.

“W-Wait!” Kaede yells as she races out of the room, almost tripping on the papers that are scattered around on the floor. Kaito helps her stay upwards and they both push through her door together.

“Do you see them?” Kaito frantically looks from side to side. There’s absolutely no one in sight.

“No!” Kaede hugs herself. “I keep everything in my backpack! If my monopad gets damaged or if someone takes the video…”

Kaito puts a hand on her shoulder. “Don’t worry, we’ll find who did this!”

Kaede spares him a worried glance but for now, tries to push her fears away. The two bolt down the hallway and towards the entrance of the school.

“I never heard them use the front door so they have to be in the academy still,” Kaito informs her. “Maybe we’ll find them quicker if we split up.”

“Wouldn’t that be dangerous?” Kaede’s eyes widen.

“Don’t worry,” Kaito puts a thumb up, “if you think you’re in any danger, just shout. I’ll come running!”

Kaede pauses before nodding firmly. “The same to you...Kaito.”

“See, that’s the spirit! You take downstairs, I’ll go upstairs.”

Kaito doesn’t wait around long to watch Kaede run down the steps to investigate the library and the games room. His starry jacket flows out from behind him as he runs up the stairs two steps at a time, stumbling a little 

He keeps running, his heart beating quickly as he skids around corners, using his hand and the walls from falling over. He slips easily in the shoes he’s wearing. He turns another corner when he spots something really unusual. Maki’s lab door is wide open. Usually, it’s closed and locked up tight. Did something happen to her? 

“Harukawa?” He yells, dashing towards the lab door. He couldn’t deny that he felt fear coursing through his veins as he creeps towards the lab quickly.

When he’s about to reach the door, he misses the person behind him that strikes him behind the head. He crumples to the floor uselessly.

Maki silently adjusts the white backpack on her shoulders before dragging Kaito into her lab.

\---

Rantaro is covered in a fine layer of sweat when he walks back to the dormitories. Kiyo seems unfairly composed as he walks beside him, his mask hiding his face. 

“It seems Angie had fun today,” Kiyo speculates. “Although her expression gets rather...intense when she’s deep into her drawings.”

“Yeah,” Rantaro agrees. His shoulders gently throb as he tries to roll them. “I’m hurting everywhere…”

“Perhaps a warm shower will help?” Kiyo suggests.

“I think I need one,” Rantaro laughs, “I stink.”

“Not as bad as you expect,” Kiyo says, “although my mask may be blocking some of your smell.”

Rantaro shakes his head. Korekiyo holds open the door for him and he’s about to step through when the academy doors swing open. Rantaro pauses when he spots Kaede glance around nervously. She runs over to them when she spots them.

“Amami, Shinguji!” She pants, her hands on her legs. “Have...Have you seen Mo-Kaito anywhere?”

“Sorry, we’ve been modelling for Angie,” Kiyo tells her, not sounding too apologetic. “Are you alright, Akamatsu? You’re a little breathless.”

Kaede swallows and shakes her head. “Someone stole my backpack and Kaito and I have been looking for who took it. I was supposed to look downstairs but I couldn’t find anyone or anything. When I went to check on Kaito, I couldn’t find him anywhere.”

“I’m sure you have spare backpacks in your closet,” Kiyo reassures her. “Couldn’t you use one of them?”

“I had my monopad and video in there!” Kaede replies, her eyes starting to shine. “What if they get damaged?”

“Calm down, Akamatsu,” Rantaro says, scratching his head. “We’ll help you look for them.”

The relief on Kaede’s face is visible. “Thank you!”

They all head into the academy and upstairs. It’s probably the most likely place for Kaito to be. The three of them first check Kirumi’s lab. The maid is inside, but offers no useful information as she shoves dirty clothes into the washing machine. They then all head to Ryoma’s lab, which is empty as well as his bathroom.

“Woah, are those handcuffs?” Rantaro asks, lightly picking up a pair with his fingertips. 

“It seems so,” Kiyo responds. “He was in prison for a while, afterall. Perhaps Monokuma wanted to mock him by making his bathroom look this way.”  
Kaede’s eyebrows furrowed together. “He really is sick…”

They leave the room and head towards the next lab, which is Gonta’s. There’s a silent agreement that they’re all a little timid to enter the lab. Thankfully, Kiyo bites the bullet and knocks on the door. When no one responds, he opens it a little and pokes his head inside and retracts it quickly.

“There’s no sign of Gokuhara, Momota or your bag inside.”

“Oh,” Kaede bites her lip.

There’s only one last lab left to check. Rantaro swallows. There’s no way Maki would willingly let any of them enter her lab. He also highly doubts that the girl has seen anything either. Still, they need to be thorough. Rantaro is starting to worry a little more than he wants to about Kaito. Even though he feels nauseous about the fact that Kaito may have his video, he doesn’t want him to get hurt or worse.

Kaede is the one to firmly knock on the door.

“Harukawa, we know you’re in there!” she calls.

She steps back away from the door when Maki opens it a crack.

“What.”

“Um, Kaede falters, “uh…”

Maki groans before attempting to close the door. Rantaro instinctively shoves his foot between the door. He winces when it gets caught.

“Move,” Maki demands, her red eyes glaring into his own.

“Akamatsu’s bag has been stolen, do you know anything about it?” Rantaro asks her.

“Why should I? I’ve been in my lab all day,” Maki tells him.

He really has no reason to doubt her but keeps his foot where it is. “What about Momota? He’s gone missing.”

“I don’t care what that idiot is up to,” Maki hisses. “It’s his own fault if something happens to him. He’s already made himself into a target by spouting all his believing in people nonsense.”

“But-” Kaede is cut off.

“Move your foot,” Maki says, pushing the door into it.

Rantaro winces but ends up moving it in the end. He stumbles backwards and is caught by Kiyo, landing backwards onto his chest.

“Does she have to be so rude?” Kaede glares at the door.

“I’m more curious about her lab,” Kiyo admits, “it seems she really doesn’t want anyone getting inside.”

“What if she’s hiding something?” Kaede looks at the door. “Her door pattern really doesn’t suit one of a child caregiver…”

Rantaro looks at the door with the deep red swirls. It’s true, Maki’s door really doesn’t suit her talent. Is it that she is also lying about her talent? But...why would Maki lie about that? 

Korekiyo ends up helping Rantaro back down to his room, his foot being too sore to walk around on. He thanks the anthropologist before locking his bedroom door. He allows himself to feel the weight of his monopads in his pocket.

He wouldn’t want to experience the fear of ever losing them. 

\---

Maki frowns at the three colourful tablets in front of her. She never really intended to grab Kaede’s but when she saw an opening to get Kaito on his own, she took it. It was only dumb luck that he decided to head upstairs instead of Kaede. She’s sure though that if it had been the other way around, she still would’ve got what she wanted in the end. 

Kaede’s backpack remains ignored in the corner, Kaede’s official monopad still inside of it, untouched but her video with the pile of three Maki has in the corner.

She had taken Kaito’s from his pocket. He’s currently laid in the corner of the room, hands tied together and his eyes blinded by a strip of black material. She’s taking no chances with him. If he wakes up, she’ll have to knock him out again. She’ll move him out of her lab later so that people don’t start to worry too much. 

Maki turns on the video she had taken from Kaito’s pocket, silent as the name pops up. Her eyes narrow down at the screen and she turns it back off again, not actually caring for the contents of the video. She stuffs the tablet into the pocket of the red cloak that hangs in her lab.

Turning back to the other two tablets, she pauses before stuffing them into Kaede’s white backpack and putting it away in the corner of the room. She’s sure she’ll have some sort of use for them later. She’s also sure she’ll have a use for Kaede’s monopad too. Even if it’s to get everyone to leave her alone, Maki knows if she threatens to break it then everyone will listen to her.

She turns back around when she hears Kaito start to wake up. She picks up a gun and heads towards him, ready to hit him with it when she pauses. Kaito starts to splutter before having a full on coughing fit, his body shaking with every cough. It’s when the small trickle of blood that comes from the corner of the mouth that Maki feels...off. 

Wordlessly, she picks him up from under the shoulders and drags him towards the door.

“Harukawa?” Kaito murmurs, slurring her name.

She stops and looks down at him before opening the door and checking down the hallway. There’s no one there. She drags Kaito out of her lab completely, dragging him to the top of the stairs. 

“H-Hey,” Kaito says, weakly. “Haru-”

“Do you want to die?” Maki asks. Kaito goes quiet. “If you say anything-”

“Don’t worry,” Kaito murmurs, “I won’t say...”

Maki stares at him before bolting back into her lab, her heart racing as she hears someone head up the stairs. She quietly closes her lab door.


	5. Chapter 5

It’s Kirumi who ends up finding Kaito on top of the stairs. She helps him sit up and undoes the rope that binds his hands together and takes off the material around his eyes. Kaito blinks before grinning.

“Hey, Tojo!”

“Momota, are you okay?” She asks, fretting around him like a mother hen. 

“Yeah, yeah,” he replies, using her help to stand up. He stumbles slightly and doesn’t resist when Kirumi pulls his arm around his shoulders and helps him down the steps. They go down one by one and rather slowly.

Kirumi can’t help but frown when she spots Kokichi at the bottom of the steps. She would rather he wasn’t around, she doesn’t want Kaito feel any worse. She hasn’t even checked to see if he’s concussed yet.

“Eh, what happened to my beloved Momota?” Kokichi asks, rushing forwards. She can’t tell if he’s actually concerned or faking it. 

“Not now, Ouma,” Kaito grits his teeth. There’s a small trickle of blood dripping down the back of his head. It lands on the floor, causing a small pink puddle to appear. 

Kirumi doesn’t know how Kaito succeeded but Kokichi actually listens to him, going quiet whilst staring at the bright pink droplets. He follows behind the two wordlessly as Kirumi leads him towards the dining room and pulls out a chair for him to sit on. 

Kaito sits down heavily, cupping his head with his hand, arm leaning on the table. His eyes are screwed shut, wincing from the bright light. He feels relief when the lights are turned down, dimming to a more easier brightness. He cracks his eyes open a little, ready to thank Kirumi when he notices that she’s not in the room. Instead, Kokichi grins as he pulls out a chair next to him, sitting down himself. 

“I said not now, Ouma,” Kaito repeats himself, wincing. His head is really starting to hurt.

“Aw, but I’m super duper worried about you!” Kokichi says, his hand under his chin as he too leans on the table, knocking a plate to the side. 

“Well, you don’t need to be,” Kaito tells him, “I just hit my head, that’s all.”

“Then how do you explain these?” Kokichi lunges forward and grabs Kaito’s free wrist and pulls up the sleeve a little. There’s a light purple bracelet of bruises that goes around his wrist. 

Weakly, Kaito tugs his hand away. “I dunno.”

Kokichi snorts. “Really, Momota? You don’t know?”

“Ouma, you better not be pestering him,” Kirumi scolds as she enters the room with a cup of water and a first aid kit.

Kokichi’s eyes shine. “Why would you think I’d be pestering him? I was only looking after him!”

Kirumi frowns at him and pulls out her own chair. She places the cup of water next to Kaito and opens up the first aid kit on her lap, pulling out a bandage to wrap around Kaito’s head. She dresses him carefully, carefully tying the gauze up before finishing. 

“That should help,” she tells him. “You have a small cut on the back of your head. I’ll keep monitoring you throughout the night, if I have your permission.”

“Nah, you don’t have to do that,” Kaito tells her. “I’ll be fine, it’s just a small cut.”

“But still,” Kirumi continues. “I would like to look after you.”

“Or is it that Momota is too embarrassed that a girl will be coming in and out of his room all night?” Kokichi smirks. “Would you prefer it if I looked after you? I’ll do anything for my darling Momota!”

“Quit screwing around!” Kaito huffs. “There’s no way in hell I’d let you in my room even for a second!” He turns his back on Kokichi. “And Tojo, I appreciate the concern but I’ll be fine, really! What sort of astronaut would I be if I didn’t know how to look after myself?”

“I see,” Kirumi hesitates. “If that is what you desire…”

“Don’t worry!” Kaito shoots her a thumbs up. “I’ll be fine!”

“But what if Momota gets attacked during the night?” Kokichi sniffles. “He was already attacked once! What if he’s hurt again?!”

“That is a problem,” Kirumi agrees. 

“Nah, I’ll be fine,” Kaito says. “I don’t see why I’d be attacked twice in one day.”

“It’s more concerning that you were attacked in the first place,” Kirumi murmurs. “Did you see who did it?”

Kaito pauses before shaking his head. “I was hit from behind.”

“Wow, it must’ve been someone really sneaky!” Kokichi muses. 

“You’re really sneaky,” Kirumi points out, narrowing her eyes.

“Eh, you think I did it?” Kokichi hiccups.

Kaito slams his hand over his mouth before he can start to cry. “Don’t start making more noise, my head is already too sore!”

Kokichi knocks the hand away. “Okay!”

“Are you sure you don’t have an idea of who did this?” Kirumi asks him. “Perhaps it’s related to the videos…”

“I’m not sure, probably,” Kaito says, picking at the bandage around his head. “But…”

“But?” Kokichi’s eyes shine.

“I think I know who might’ve done it.”

“You do?” Kirumi looks alarmed. “Then we must go and-”

“I’m handling it,” Kaito informs her, crossing his arms. “So there’s no need for anyone to worry.”

“But you were attacked,” Kirumi says.

“Yeah, and I’ll deal with it later,” Kaito shakes his head. “Just...don’t worry too much about it, okay? And don’t make a big deal about it around the others. If they ask, just say I fell or something.”

“Are you sure?” Kirumi looks torn. 

“Hey, it’s pretty easy to lie you know?” Kokichi says to her. “I lie all the time!”

Kaito snorts. “That doesn’t surprise me.”

Kokichi pouts.

After checking over Kaito once more, Kirumi reluctantly leaves the two together to start on dinner.

“So,” Kokichi says, placing his head down onto his arms. “Who are you protecting?”

“It’s none of your business.”

“But what if they go after me?”

Kaito huffs. “They won’t.”

“Huh?” Kokichi blinks. “How would you know?”

“Because I do, okay?!”

“Hmm,” Kokichi sighs, “Momota is being really awkward. First he thinks it’s a good idea for Akamatsu to still be our leader and next he’s protecting people who attack him. It’s like he wants something bad to happen.”

Kaito’s cheeks go red. “Stop trying to stir shit up! You’re completely wrong about everything!”

“Oh, why is that?” Kokichi smiles lazily. 

“Because,” Kaito frowns, “just because.”

“Geez, let’s hope there isn’t another class trial because you’d be no help at all,” Kokichi says. “Momota will probably get us all killed and believe in the wrong person.”

“Shut up!” Kaito abruptly stands up, knocking his chair over. “If you say one more-”

Kokichi smirks as the dining room doors open. A breathless Kaede stumbles into the room, a face full of relief when she spots Kaito at the table.

“You’re okay!” She pants, running towards him, breathing heavily.

“Duh, nothing bad can happen to the Luminary of the Stars!” Kaito grins, pressing his fists together. 

“What happened to your head?” Kiyo asks, gesturing to the bandages that are wrapped heavily around the astronaut’s head.

“Oh, uh…” Kaito rubs the back of his head before wincing.

“Silly Momota tripped down the steps whilst we were playing tag!” Kokichi cuts in brightly. 

“You were playing tag?” Kiyo quizzes, raising an eyebrow. 

“Uh...yeah,” Kaito slowly says, “he wouldn’t leave me alone until I agreed.”

Kaede frowns. “I thought you were looking for my backpack?”

“Why would he be looking for your backpack?” Kokichi asks her, tilting his head to the side.

“Someone took it,” Kaede informs him. 

Kokichi laughs. “Oh yeah, that was me!”

“It was?!” Kaede gapes at him.

“Yeah, I was bored so I took it! I threw it in the pool though because it wasn’t interesting, I hope there wasn’t anything important inside!”

Kaede’s face turns chalk white in a split second. “Y-You what?”

“Ouma, stop fucking around,” Kaito bellows, slamming his fist down onto the table. “Kaede, he’s lying.”

“He is?” Kaede’s voice is small.

Kokichi only cackles.

“So you were unable to find the bag?” Kiyo asks.

“Yeah, sorry,” Kaito apologies, looking away at nothing in particular.

“No, it’s fine,” she replies. “As long as nothing inside is damaged…”

They all sit down in silence when more and more people start to arrive. Everyone asks about Kaito’s head and he replays the same story. A large majority of people shoot Kokichi a dirty look. 

Half way through the meal, Tenko stands up. “Hey, Tenko needs everyone’s attention!”

“Yes, Chabashira?” Kaede asks, looking away from her meal.

“Yumeno is going to be holding a magic show not tomorrow morning but the morning after! You all better come!” Tenko announces.

“Do we have to?” Himiko asks, her voice muffled due to the spoon inside her mouth.

Tenko either ignores her or doesn’t hear. “We’ll be preparing for it all day tomorrow! There’s going to be a lot of hard work being put into this so you all better appreciate this!”

“Perhaps a magic show will cheer everyone up,” Korekiyo muses. “What a thoughtful idea, Chabashira, Yumeno.”

Tenko pulls a face.

“Will you need any assistance?” Kirumi asks her.

Nodding, Tenko rattles off a list of things that needs doing. “So Tenko will be needing a few people to help move equipment around and to help decorate the gym. We thought that would be the best place to hold it.”

“Gonta happy to help!” Gonta tells the girl.

Tenko hesitates before nodding. “Yes, you can help.”

“What about me?” Kokichi innocently asks.

Tenko’s eyes turn into slits as a strange sneer emerges on her face. 

The rest of the evening is spent discussing the plans for the magic show. Admittedly, everyone is excited, apart from Himiko, who tiredly yawns throughout the meal.

\---

The next morning Rantaro and Gonta head to the gym together after finishing breakfast. The preparations are at full swing already. Kirumi sits in the corner on top of a box whilst she creates a pair of thick, red curtains, her hands moving at an incredible speed. Rantaro’s mouth drops open as he stares at her working. She really is the ultimate maid. He’s also glad to see her well today too. It’s strange being the only one knowing that she is kind of the Prime Minister.

Tenko stands with her hands on her hips at the centre of the room, yelling orders out to everyone. Most of the room is filled with girls, Tenko in the centre, Kirumi to the side, Angie on the floor with many pieces of colourful paper scattered around her, Himiko slouches over a box whilst Tsumugi fiddles with the magician’s hat. Rantaro notices that Kaede, Maki and Miu are nowhere to be seen and ponders about their whereabouts. He also hopes that Kaede finds her bag.

Tenko pulls a funny face when she spots Gonta and Rantaro, one hand on her hip and she silently stares at them before she stomps over to them, her pigtails swishing side to side. 

“Listen up you two!” She starts, “no bothering any of the girls whilst you’re here! If Tenko finds out that you’ve harassed anyone-”

“Gonta don’t want to harass friends!” Gonta replies, eyes wide and shocked. “Gonta want to help so Yumeno can have good show!”

Tenko hesitates before deciding to stop yelling at Gonta. She doesn’t hesitate however to send a glare at Rantaro, who shrinks under her gaze.

“There’s some equipment that needs to be brought in here from Yumeno’s lab,” Tenko informs them. “It’s...too heavy for any of us to bring through so I want you two to bring them in! Yumeno will be doing an underwater escape trick so we’ll need the fish tank!”

“Gonta understand!” Gonta thunders out of the gym. Rantaro meekly follows him, still intimidated by Tenko. 

Himiko’s lab suits her talent. The room itself has a peaceful feeling to it despite it being full of dangerous items that could easily be used as weapons. The box full of swords makes Rantaro wary. He tries to ignore them as he passes them by and heads towards the corner of the room that’s got the fish tank in.

Gonta effortlessly picks up the fishtank, lifting it up from the floor completely. Rantaro can’t help but feel intimidated by Gonta’s pure, raw strength as the muscled man heads out of the room on his own, not even breaking a sweat as he carries the tank towards the gym. Rantaro wonders if he should go and help him but feels like he’d only get in the way if he tries to help. Instead, he heads over to a smaller tank that’s got a blanket covering it.

When he plucks the blanket from the tank, he’s surprised to see it full of water and even more surprised to see all the fish inside. Upon closer inspection, he realises that the fish are actually piranhas. They swim around the tank in circles, mouths open and closing. They’re clearly hungry. Has anyone been feeding them?

Rantaro tries to pick up the tank on his own but quickly puts it back down when he stumbles. Water sloshes dangerously near the edge of the tank and the piranhas eagerly swim towards his direction. 

“Do you require any assistance?” 

Korekiyo stands at the doorway, his mouth and nose hidden as per usual by his mask. He nonchalantly heads over to the tank and peers at the piranhas fearlessly, marvelling them.

“Yes please,” Rantaro says.

They work together to pick up the tank, slowly heading towards the gym. Each step causes the tank to wobble, the water continues to lick at the edges. Hungrily, the piranhas watch them.

“Yumeno must be quite brave if she wants to face these,” Kiyo points out as they near the gym.

“I know I definitely wouldn’t want to go near them,” Rantaro agrees.

“Such a brave girl, “Kiyo continues. “It’s admirable, really.”

Rantaro nods, not really sure how to respond to Kiyo’s constant praising of Himiko. Perhaps he has a crush on her? Then perhaps that would make Kiyo the brave one. Rantaro knows he wouldn’t want to face the wrath of Tenko if he ever hurt Himiko. He also has a feeling that Tenko may view Himiko as not just a friend. 

His back hits the gym doors as they enter the room together. He hears Angie praising Gonta for managing to carry the huge tank all by himself and can hear Gonta stutter out a thanks. Gonta is rather bashful. He’ll be a great gentleman one day.

The two drop the fish tank on the stage, Rantaro backing away from it quickly as Kiyo fearlessly hovers near it, not minding being near the fish. 

“Wow, they sure look hungry!” Angie comments from the floor. There’s even more pieces of paper around her now. Rantaro spots a couple of pictures of Himiko, the magician being rather skillfully drawn in her big hat. 

“It’s more e-exciting when they’re hungry,” Himiko tells her, standing in front of the tank. “A-Although it’s a bit more d-dangerous.”

Angie beams at her. “Don’t worry! I’ve asked Atua to look after you!”

“What’s he gonna do,” Himiko murmurs. “I can look after myself with my magic. I’ve been recharging all night for the show. But if anyone can spare some mana…”

“Yumeno will be amazing!” Tenko pushes in to the conversation. “Tenko believes in her and her magic! She really is the Ultimate Mage!”

“I’m the Ultimate Mage, not Magi...oh,” Himiko pauses, before her cheeks flush. 

Tenko continues. “Don’t worry! If anything goes wrong, I’ll fight all the fish for you!”

“You’d fight several hungry piranhas for her?” Kiyo looks astounded. “You must really care for her.”

Tenko turns a bright shade of red. “S-Shut up, degenerate!”

“You definitely seem like the type of person I would’ve wanted my sister to be friends with,” Kiyo continues. Rantaro raises an eybrow. That was a little strange of Kiyo to say.

However, Tenko blanches. “Y-You better treat her right! Brother or not, I won’t hesitate to use my neo-aikido on you!”

“Kukuku, I’m afraid you misheard me,” Korekiyo says, “I’m afraid she isn’t...alive anymore. She passed away from an illness.”

There’s an awkward silence.

“I’m...sorry,” Rantaro quickly says. Tenko stiffly looks away whilst Himiko turns to help Angie.

Kiyo shakes his head. “There’s no reason to apologise, she would only be suffering if she was still alive. My only worry is that she’s lonely.”

“I’m sure she’s with other people somewhere,” Rantaro gently tells him.

Kiyo closes his eyes. “Yes, I’d like to think that too.”

Now it’s really awkward. Rantaro shuffles on his feet whilst the piranha's gnash their teeth at him from inside the tank. 

“It seems I’ve made things uncomfortable,” Kiyo speculates, “I apologise. That was not my intention. Let’s talk about happier things, yes? You have siblings too, don’t you, Amami?”

“Ah, yes,” Rantaro nods, “I have twelve sisters.”

Tenko spins around and stares at him with an intensity that would rival the sun. “You have how many sisters?”

“Twelve,” Rantaro repeats. He backs away a little.

Kiyo blinks at him. “T-Twelve?”

Rantaro smiles. “Yeah, all of them are younger than me. We don’t all have the same father however…” Rantaro’s smile turns dull. Whilst he doesn’t hate his father, he doesn’t exactly approve of his ‘playboy’ ways. The man usually had a different woman in the bedroom every night. “I still love them all the same.”

“You better!” Tenko growls. “All girls should be treated with the same amount of respect! I’ll really have to beat you up if I hear you’ve done anything to upset them!”

“I would never upset any of my sisters intentionally!” Rantaro reassures her. “They’re everything to me.”

Kiyo shuffles from one foot to another. “Ah, how admirable. You must really pride yourself on being a big brother, yes?”

“Maybe that’s his talent,” Himiko suggests from the floor. She’s kneeling by a stack of drawings. “The Ultimate Big Brother.”

“What an honour it would be having that talent,” Kiyo muses to himself. 

Tenko shoots him a dirty look but decides not to say anything.

Rantaro shakes his head. “Probably not…”

“You have been the only one with enough patience to deal with Ouma,” Himiko points out. “And he’s a real pain.”

“Of course he is, he’s a male!” Tenko reminds her.

“Uh, Chabashira,” Rantaro reluctantly says, “what do you have against males anyway?”

Tenko sends him the chilliest look he’s ever experienced from her. “Like you would understand!”

“I...don’t.”

“But Yumeno did make a good point before,” Kiyo says. “You have been dealing with Ouma’s…childish behaviour quite well. I would’ve thought that Harukawa would have more patience with him since she is the Ultimate Child Caregiver after all.”

“She doesn’t really leave lab much,” Himiko shivers. “She intimidates me.”

“Don’t worry, Tenko will protect you!” Tenko reassures her.

Rantaro scratches his cheek. “Well, I guess I’m just used to little kids and how they express themselves. It still doesn’t mean that Ouma isn’t tricky to deal with.”

“Atua says he’s like a dog,” Angie says, not looking up from her work. “All bark and no bite!”

“That’s a rather interesting way of putting it,” Kiyo agrees. “He hasn’t really done much to make himself seem dangerous. He just seems to like pushing people’s buttons.”

“That doesn’t mean he isn’t any less annoying,” Himiko complains. “I can’t figure him out at all.”

“Just ignore him, I know I do!” Tenko tells her.

Rantaro crosses his arms. He’s not exactly sure what his opinion of Kokichi is. At first he seemed overly childish and a little bit of a liar. He isn’t even sure to believe him about his talent of being a leader. He hasn’t established or shown too many leadership skills so far. In fact, he’s been pushing more for everyone to turn against each other. However, he does have a way with words and does seem to think things through extremely thoroughly. Kokichi was the one to take all the cameras and shot put ball from the library too.

He’s even suspicious of Rantaro. It’s like Kokichi knows that he’s lying about something but just can’t figure out what. Kokichi currently walks the very fine line of being someone Rantaro wants to trust due to his intelligence but also someone Rantaro wants to distrust too. Kokichi is smart. Too smart. 

Rantaro also doesn’t want to believe that Kokichi is the mastermind.

He blinks when Kiyo snaps his fingers in front of his face. 

“Earth to Amami,” he says. “Are you okay? You seemed to be in a bit of a daze.”

“Sorry, I was just thinking,” Rantaro shakes his head. “Don’t worry.”

“Tenko won’t,” Tenko replies easily. “Anyway, that tank needs to be put up above the other tank.”

Rantaro sweats, thinking about how much work it’s going to be setting up for the show. 

\---

Kokichi takes Gonta around an hour into preparations, much to the room’s dismay.

“But I need him for something!” Kokichi whines when Tenko picks him up by the scruff of his scarf and chucks him from the room. 

“He’s busy!” she yells.

Gonta looks split. “Gonta can come back and help later, Gonta not doing anything now.”

“See!” Kokichi retorts, pulling himself up from the floor and dusting off his trousers. The white has turned into a light brown. The leader frowns at the dirt. “I only need him for a couple of minutes!”

“What are you up to?” Kirumi asks the boy, setting the curtains down onto her lap. They’re almost complete. She’s been stitching stars onto it, a request from Himiko. 

Kokichi smiles at her. “Oh, nothing. I just thought Gonta would like to see this bug I found!”

“Bug? Ouma found bug?” Gonta barrels towards the door, nearly knocking Kokichi over. He dives to the side. “Where! Show me!”

“This way!” Kokichi takes Gonta’s hand and directs him away from the gym.

“He’s definitely up to something,” Kiyo says out loud.

“I hope he doesn’t get Gonta into trouble,” Tsumugi says, “I don’t want to see him hurt…”

“I’m sure Gonta can defend himself,” Rantaro reassures her. “It’s only Ouma, afterall.”

“Atua says Gonta could probably throw him across the academy if he wanted to!” Angie clasps her hands together. “Gonta is truly amazing!”

The gym is slowly coming together nicely. Rantaro and Korekiyo had slowly set up the tanks on the stage with Gonta’s help. The bottom tank had been filled up with water, which looks clean and make Rantaro thirsty when he looks at it. Angie had hung up all of her pictures around the stage and the gym, plastering them to the walls proudly. While all of them being amazing, they also look a little strange due to Angie’s strange art style. Rantaro also feels strangely sick when he looks at the pictures as well as a little light headed. He gets the feeling the others feel the same. 

Kirumi leaves and returns with a tray of snacks and a jug of water. She smiles as Rantaro approaches him and pours him a cup.

“Thank you,” Rantaro gratefully says, downing the cup rather quickly.

“It’s important that everyone says hydrated,” Kirumi says, placing the jug down. She looks composed. Then again, she hasn’t done much physical labour like Rantaro has. “You have set up the stage nicely.”

“It wasn’t easy,” Rantaro laughs uneasily. There’s something about those piranhas he doesn’t like.

“What’s important is that the show goes well tomorrow.”

“I suppose so.”

“It’ll be a pleasant change,” Kirumi says. “Hopefully it’ll take everyone’s minds from Monokuma and his motive.

Rantaro nods, a small wave of guilt washing over him. Kirumi’s video is in his pocket.

“Although, it doesn’t seem that we need to worry about the motive too much,” Kirumi continues. “No one seems too worried about trying to get their videos.”

“Not even you?” Rantaro asks.

Kirumi pauses before shaking her head. “I’d rather not play into the hands of Monokuma. If I were to be offered my video right now, I wouldn’t watch it.”

“I feel the same way,” Rantaro agrees, feeling a little better.

She politely removes herself from the conversation to help Himiko choose out some sandwiches.

Rantaro sits by the gym doors as far away from the tanks as possible with a plate of food resting on his lap. He absentmindedly takes a bite from his sandwich. 

He’s been feeling a little more easier lately. He can’t exactly pinpoint why but his anxiety is slowly dying down. Gonta had slept in his bed again last night and thankfully didn’t fall out of it again this morning. This time, Rantaro had woken up first and had hopped into his shower quickly, washing off last night’s sweat. He had felt a lot better after showering. 

The morning had been okay too. Gonta and him weren’t the first ones to grab breakfast this morning as Kirumi informed them Kaede had been in for a quick breakfast. The pianist was still searching for her backpack. Rantaro’s a little surprised she hasn’t found it yet. Perhaps that’s why she decided not to help with the magic show.

He watches as Tenko, Angie and Himiko all huddle together. Tenko’s eyes are on Himiko at all times, completely oblivious that her sandwich filling is falling from the bread. Angie giggles at something Himiko says and the magician pulls on her hat with a frown. From behind them, Kiyo simply observes discreetly, drinking his water through a straw. Rantaro notices the small hole in his mask. Unfortunately, he can’t see anything else.

“Do you mind if I sit here?”

Tsumugi stands above him, both of her hands firmly holding her own plate of food. Her glasses shine whilst she smiles at him.

“No problem!” Rantaro gestures at the space next to him.

Tsumugi sits down, careful of her skirt. “I’ve been adjusting Yumeno’s clothes all morning! She said she wanted to look extra nice for the show.”

“I’m sure you did a good job,” Rantaro says.

Tsumugi beams at his compliment. “I hope my lab opens up soon! I really want to make a costume for her! I think Yumeno would look great dressed up as a magical girl!”

“A magical girl? Like from an anime?”

“Yes, exactly!” Tsumugi excitedly replies, her hands held together tightly. “Do you watch anime too?”

Rantaro shakes his head. “Sorry, not really. I’ll occasionally watch some with my sisters though.”

Tsumugi doesn’t seem too disappointed. “So you watch all the girly stuff? I see. Do you want to be dressed up as a magical girl, Amami?”

“Uh, not really-”

“Oh! I bet you’d look like a great magical girl!” Tsumugi ignores him. “Although, I’m not really sure who to dress you as. Have you seen Sailor Moon?”

Tsumugi goes off on a tangent about anime for a good thirty minutes whilst Rantaro helplessly tries to listen. He really has no idea what she’s going on about but nods when he thinks it’s appropriate. 

“Anyway,” Tsumugi finally finishes, “I’ll have to find some others to agree to dress up with you. Maybe I’ll be able to convince Harukawa to dress up as one? She totally seems like the tsundere type!”

“Tsundere?”

Tsumugi sighs. “She’s totally more interesting than plain old me. She’s got this...mysterious air to her.”

“I think she’s just shy,” Rantaro tells her. Truthfully, Maki scares him. 

“Really?” Tsumugi pushes her glasses up the bridge of her nose. “Then maybe we need to find someone to help her. Oh! You seem like the kind and patient type, maybe you should try to help her?”

“Uh, perhaps not.”

“Really? Then what about Momota? He seems like he’d be a good prince in shining armor!” Tsumugi starts to drool. “Actually, don’t you think that it would be very romantic if the two of them got together?”

“Momota and Harukawa?” Rantaro thinks about it. “I don’t think Harukawa likes Momota that much.”

Tsumugi shakes her head, her glasses glinting mischievously. “Then it would be really cute if they both got together! Imagine, a strong and carefree guy helping a shy, mysterious girl come out of her shell! Oh, I love that trope!”

Rantaro recoils away a little. “I don’t think Harukawa or Momota would appreciate us talking about them like this behind their backs.”

“Oh, you’re probably right,” Tsumugi says, “that was just plain rude of me.”

To avoid conversation, Rantaro shoves a crust into his mouth instead. 

“Hey, Amami?”

“Hmm?”

“How long do you think we’re all going to be here anyway?”

“I don’t know.”

“Oh...Hey Amami?”

“Yes?”

Tsumugi turns her head to face at him so they’re eye to eye. 

“Does something feel...off to you?”

Rantaro finds himself caught off guard. “What do you mean?”

“Well,” Tsumugi clearly hesitates. “Ah, never mind. Just ignore me!”

She stands up and dusts off her skirt.

“I’ll see you later!”

Rantaro chews on his crusts, confused. What was all that about? He watches as Tsumugi hands her plate to Kirumi before leaving the gym wordlessly, her eyes hidden behind the shine of her glasses.

For just a moment, Rantaro feels his gut churn.

He then burps, flushing when Tenko sends him a dirty look.

\---

He’s on his way to his bedroom when there’s a shift in the atmosphere. Rantaro stops walking for a moment. He’s outside, having come down the steps of the academy and is currently on the path back to the dormitories.

There doesn’t seem to be anything out of the ordinary. Infact, he’s the only person outside from what he can gather. Rantaro hesitates and is about to take another step forwards when he finally gets an answer for the strange feeling he’s having.

The floor starts to rumble, knocking up rocks and dust from the floor. For a moment Rantaro thinks that there’s an earthquake when the academy doors fly open, both of them slamming loudly into the school and so hard that the wood splinters just a little.

He has no time to move when he’s grabbed and thrown over a shoulder. 

“H-Huh?”

“Gonta can no let you go any further!” Gonta says as he runs back into the academy. 

Rantaro spies Ryoma hiding at the bottom set of stairs, clearly not wanting to be seen by Gonta.

“Gonta, what’s wrong?” Rantaro asks.

Gonta doesn’t answer, instead keeping a firm grip on Rantaro and taking him up the stairs. When they’re outside of Gonta’s lab, Rantaro swallows heavily as Gonta opens the door and places him inside carefully.

He’s surprised to see that there’s actually people inside. Shuichi lies on the floor with Kokichi on top of him whilst Kaito watches, sweating in the corner. Kaede looks like she wants to help Shuichi out but doesn’t. Miu is curled up by the tree, fidgeting with a piece of her hair. Next to her, Kirumi dutifully offers her support. 

“I see you didn’t escape Gonta either,” Kaito says, emerging from the corner. 

“At least you didn’t get knocked out,” Kaede looks to the floor.

Kokichi giggles. “Gonta run poor Saihara over. I thought that he’d killed him!”

“He came out of nowhere,” Shuichi states, in a daze on the floor.

Kokichi smirks and plucks the hat from Shuichi’s hat, cramming it down onto his own head. Shuichi frets and struggles to try and grab it back. Kokichi dodges out of the way, pulling himself up and running to the other side of the room. He fails to dodge Kirumi’s hand, who takes the hat from his head and hands it back to Shuichi, who gratefully places it back onto his head. 

“Do you really want to wear that all the time?” Kaito asks him, shaking his head. “It isn’t very manly.”

“I like it,” Shuichi defends himself, pulling his hat over his head a little more firmly.

“You like hiding under it,” Kokichi corrects him. “It’s such a shame! I thought you looked really pretty!”

“It is important to be confident if you’re a detective,” Kirumi chimes in. “Although for now, there is no reason why you shouldn’t wear your hat if it makes you comfortable.

Shuichi meekly looks away. 

“Does anyone know why we’re in here?” Rantaro asks. 

“It’s probably something to do with him!” Miu bursts out, pointing her finger over in Kokichi’s direction.

“Moi?” Kokichi blinks. “Why would I have anything to do with this?”

“Because you were the one who was with Gonta last,” Kirumi states. “If I’m not mistaken, you said you found a bug?”

Kokichi looks confused. “I did?”

“You did,” Rantaro tells him.

“Really?” Kokichi holds his hands out excitedly. “Wow! I wonder what type it is!”

“Ouma, you better not have tricked Gonta,” Kaede scolds him, folding her arms together. 

“Well,” Kokichi grins. “Who knows. I needed Gonta’s help to find them!”

“So there are bugs?” Kirumi frowns. “That really is undesirable.”

“Don’t worry!” Kokichi reassures her. “They’re really, really small so no one can see them!”

“So they don’t even exist?” Miu questions, “so you’ve just been fucking lying to us the whole time? Gonta grabbed my tits for no reason?”

“He what?” Kaito’s eyes go wide.

“Ouma, if you’re just messing around...” Kaede looks angry. “I have more important things to do right now. I still haven’t found my bag!”

“Maybe you should’ve looked after it better!” Kokichi remarks. He jumps out of the way when Kaito charges towards him, throwing himself behind Rantaro and hiding behind him like a little kid.

“Amami! Help me! Momota is going to beat me up!”

“You were being mean,” Rantaro reprimands him. He sighs heavily. “Momota, just ignore him.”

“Not until he explains what’s going on!” Kaito argues, trying to get to Kokichi.

Rantaro stands firm, not allowing the astronaut to get around him.

“Wow! Maybe Amami is the Ultimate Bodyguard?” Kokichi wraps his arms around his shoulders. “I feel super safe with you around! Maybe I’ll stick by your side forever?”

Rantaro sags. “Please don’t.”

“Momota,” Kirumi steps in, “whilst I too want answers, we’re not going to get anywhere with violence.”

“Tsk,” Kaito rubs his face with his fist before going back to stand with Kaede. “He’s gone anyway, can’t we just leave?”

“Nonononono!” Kokichi runs to the door and blocks it. “You don't want to upset Gonta, right?”

“Well,” Kaede wavers. “No…”

“Then don’t leave!” Kokichi says. “He’s going to throw you all a party!”

A party?” Miu stands up, using the tree for support. “Fuck yeah! Why didn’t you say so in the first place you shitty twink?”

“Because it was going to be a surprise!” Kokichi sounds frustrated. “Now you all ruined it! Good job everyone!”

“But why hold a party in here?” Kirumi looks around. “Gonta is the only one who really likes bugs.”

“Unless you made Gonta gather us all here for a reason?” Shuichi suggests.

Kokichi claps his hands together. “Oh, you got me! Trust the detective to figure it out!”

“Huh? So we’re not having a party?” Miu deflates. “And here I thought big dick was cool.”

“Why would you want us all gathered here?” Rantaro asks, perplexed.

“Oh you know,” Kokichi puts his hands behind his head. 

The door opens again and Gonta marches Tsumugi inside. She blinks at everyone in surprise.

“Gonta no find everyone!” Gonta cries. “I think they hiding.”

“Aw, that’s okay,” Kokichi puts a hand on Gonta’s back. “There’s enough people here anyway, right?”

“But…” Gonta looks at everyone. “Gonta really wanted to bring-”

“Well, maybe you should get this party up and going?” Kokichi tells him. “I need to go and do something but since I already really love bugs it doesn’t matter too much!”

“What do you mean?” Kaito frets, edging towards the door. 

“Toodles!”

Kokichi darts from the room the same time as Gonta’s eyes light up. Rantaro feels sweat run down his back as Gonta opens up a box. 

The whole room turns into chaos when a swarm of bugs fly out from the box. Rantaro backs away until his back hits the wall, powerless as the bugs zoom around. 

He hears Miu scream as bugs land on top of her. Kirumi tries to dig her out of the pile but is defeated as the pile only grows more and more.

“Holy shit!” Kaito dives next to Rantaro, grabbing both of his arms and hiding behind him. Rantaro tries to struggle but Kaito’s grip is too strong. “Why the fuck did Ouma tell him to do this?”

Rantaro spies Tsumugi cough as a bug flies into her mouth.

“I don’t know!” Rantaro replies before firmly closing his mouth when a couple of bugs come his way. 

“Is everyone having fun!” Gonta looks unfazed.

“No!”

Shuichi uses his hat as a makeshift mask to stop bugs from going near his face. Near him, Kaede uses her arms as shields.

Kaito screams when a Gonta decides to release more, truly oblivious to the horror he was putting everyone through. 

The next hour is a long one. 

Rantaro spends most of it as Kaito’s personal shield. When he finally pries Kaito’s fingers away from his arms, he swears that there’s bruises starting to grow already. The moment the fingers leave him, the bugs start to grow on Kaito, who howls in defeat.

He creeps over to Kirumi, who is still trying to remove the bugs from Miu. The inventor had been oddly silent for the entire hour. Rantaro wonders if she’s passed out. He tries to help Kirumi but every time a bug lands on her, another one takes it spot.

“It’s no use!” Kaede complains from across the room. “There’s too many of them!”

“I think I just swallowed another one!” Tsumugi gags, hands over her mouth.

Shuichi keeps his hat over his mouth, firmly pressing it against his skin. 

“I think I’m being eaten alive!” Kaito cries from under the bugs. 

“Bugs can’t eat you alive!” Gonta reassures him. “But Gonta can find some if you like?”

“Don’t!” Kaito’s on the verge of tears.

Rantaro panics. “Maybe another time?”

Gonta looks disappointed but agrees. 

From under her own pile, Miu starts to come to.

“W-What the fuck! Why the fuck is there bugs on my tits! I’m not into this sort of shit!” Miu screeches, pulling bugs from herself frantically. “I swear if one has gone up my ass!”

Miu’s head pops up from the pile, her golden hair spilling over the bugs. It was lucky she had been wearing her goggles when the bugs were released. She blinks and looks at Kirumi and Rantaro.

“Don’t think you’ll find it easy to touch me like this next time!” she warns them. “I don’t usually let people touch my gorgeous body for free! I’ve got a reputation to keep up!”

Both of them stay quiet. Miu sweats.

“We can’t just stay here all night!” Kaede calls, attempting to get over to Kaito to help him. “If Ouma is up to something we need to stop him!”

“Where is he anyway?” Tsumugi asks. “He’s been gone an awful long time…”

Kaito desperately sucks in a breath when he knocks bugs away from his mouth. “This is all his fault! When I get my hands on him-”

“We’ll worry about that later,” Kaede scolds him. “We’ve got more important things to do right now!”

“Yeah, getting out of here!” Miu cries. “Is there a fucking leech on me?!”

From the corner of his eye, Rantaro sees Shuichi creep slowly towards the door from behind Gonta. When the detective spots him looking, he pleads with his eyes. Even if it’s one of them who can leave, they can get help or at least stop Kokichi. 

Rantaro clears his throat. “Hey, Gonta? What’s your favourite bug?”

“Hmm! Gonta not know! Gonta love them all!”

“Interesting,” Rantaro says. Shuichi is so close to the door. “Maybe you can let us see more bugs? Maybe you’ll find a favourite by looking at them all?”

“Amami what the fuck?” Kaito goes pale as Gonta excitedly reaches for the lid of another box.

Shuichi dives for the door and leaves, slamming the door behind him.

Gonta turns around. “Huh? What was that?”

“Nothing, Gonta,” Rantaro smiles sweetly. He doesn’t feel sweet. He dying on the inside. 

A new wave of bugs enter the room.

Everyone screams.

\---

It feels like an eternity when the door finally opens again. Shuichi keeps the door open as he pushes Kokichi inside, the leader’s face scrunched up in disgust as he sees the bugs.

“This is what you’ve been dealing with?” he asks, sounding almost sympathetic. “Time to put them away, Gonta!”

The relief is instant as Gonta calls for all the bugs to go back into their cages. It was rather magical to see the bugs all zoom away by Gonta’s command. 

“Oh thank god,” Kaito wheezes, sprawled out on the floor. 

“Where the fuck did you go?” Miu demands, standing up furiously. “Hey! You better have a good fucking answer!”

“I hope he does too,” Kirumi calmly says. Rantaro feels a raw, powerful energy emit from her. She’s probably pissed.

“Eh, what do you mean?” Kokichi asks. “It was Gonta’s idea to throw a party!”

“Hah, fat chance!” Kaito slowly pulls himself up from the floor. 

“It true!” Gonta reveals. “Ouma say no one like bugs so I throw party! But also, Gonta really wanted to-”

“Ah, Gonta,” Kaede sadly smiles at him. “You were tricked.”

“Eh?” Gonta looks alarmed.

“No you weren’t! Don’t listen to them!” Kokichi confidentiality reassures him. “You got to show everyone your bugs!”

“Gonta suppose so!”

Rantaro sighs. “Gonta, the only reason why Ouma wanted you to throw this party was so he could do something. My guess he wanted to get as many people out of the way as possible.”

“Is that true?” Gonta pauses.

“Nope! They’re lying!”

“H-Huh?”

“Ouma,” Shuichi sighs. “I found you in the games room watching the motive videos.”

“You were what?” Kaito splutters.

“We weren’t supposed to share them!” Kaede cries, alarmed.

Kokichi rolls his eyes. “It’s not that big of a deal!” He sniffles. “I couldn’t even find a few of them anyway!”

“What does that mean?” Kirumi’s eyes narrow. “Have you been in our rooms?”

“Duh,” Kokichi confirms. “I was going to throw a video viewing party with everyone!”

“But Saihara just said you were watching them,” Kaito says. 

“I was just checking them!” Kokichi pouts. “They were all pretty boring anyway, nothing to get too worked up over.”

“Really?” Tsumugi blinks. 

“We all agreed not to share our videos!” Kaede shakes her head. “Were you not listening?”

Kokichi sniffles. “It’s like I said! They were all boring! Boring videos for boring people!”

“That’s rude,” Tsumugi comments. 

Kaito’s fist clenches. “So you trapped us all here just so you could watch everyone’s videos?”

“Yep!” Kokichi pops the ‘p’.

“Unbelievable!”

“What’s unbelievable is how many people kept their videos in their rooms!” Kokichi says. “It’s like they wanted them to be stolen!”

“People wouldn’t expect you to want to take them all,” Kirumi points out.

Rantaro checks the weight of his pocket. All three of his tablets are still there. 

“As long as there’s no harm done,” Rantaro says.

Kaito shoots him a betrayed look. “You’re just going to forgive him?!”

“I’m still angry but,” Rantaro sighs, “there’s nothing much we can do about it.”

“I suppose you’re right,” Kirumi grimly agrees. 

“Wow!” Kokichi pumps his fists. “You’ll help me just like that? Perhaps Amami can join my group!”

Rantaro ignores him as he pushes open the lab door. Miu and Tsumugi both leave, heaving and swiping bugs from their clothing. Kirumi follows after them, grimacing as he plucks bugs from her hair.

“This is going to take a while to clean,” she says.

“Tsk, just leave it until tomorrow,” Kaito tells her. He’s looking a little too pale.

Kirumi shakes her head. “I won’t be able to sleep at night knowing that there is such a large mess. You can all head back to bed, I will sort this out.”

“Gonta help clean too!” Gonta says. “Gonta need to check on bugs!”

Kirumi pauses. “As long as you don’t let them out again. They’ll be tired now, yes?”

“Ah, probably,” Gonta rubs the back of his head. “Gonta still would like to check on them.”

“You should do that quickly, you’re currently sleeping in Amami’s room, correct?” Kirumi reminds him. “It would be a shame to make him stay up all night waiting for your return.”

Gonta hops from one foot to another. “What should Gonta do?”

“Don’t worry!” Kokichi latches himself onto Rantaro’s arm. “I’ll have a sleepover with him tonight! Don’t worry!”

“Ouma able to protect Amami?” Gonta tilts his head, crossing his arms.

Kokichi chokes the same time as Kaito splutters. “Of course I can!”

“You’re like, almost half the size of him,” Kaito smirks. “How about I sleep in the room instead?”

“Eh? But you’re injured!” Kokichi reminds him. “You’ll be completely useless!”

“Like hell I am!” Kaito winks at Rantaro. “Don’t worry! The Luminary of the Stars will look after you!”

“That’s not fair!” Kokichi starts to wail.

“Why don’t you all share a room together, you virgins?” Miu suggest, from down the hallway. “You could all have a threesome or something! I’m pretty sure there’s lube somewhere around here-”

“I appreciate both of your offers,” Rantaro quickly says over the top of Miu’s laughing. They’re nearing the dormitories now. “But I should be fine for the night.”

“Are you sure?” Tsumugi hesitantly asks. “We still don’t know who hurt you or destroyed your room.”

“Well…” Rantaro looks at his room door. 

“Come on! We’ll be fine together!” Kokichi drags him towards his door.

“I already said I’d stay with him!” Kaito pushes his way to the door. 

“But both of you have been attacked or targeted!” Kokichi reminds them. “It would be stupid to keep you both together!”

“I’m too tired to keep up with you virgins,” Miu complains. “Just decide who is fucking who already!”

“Do you really need to phrase it like that,” Kaede sighs. 

“How about Saihara then?” Kokichi suggests suddenly.

The detective blinks. “I don’t think I’ll be that much of a help…”

“Yeah, look at how scrawny he is!” Kaito points at him.

“Don’t be mean!” Kaede scolds.

Rantaro opens his door with his keys. “I think I’ll be fine for tonight. I’ll just wait up for Gonta if I get too uncomfortable.”

“Eh, you’ll trust Gonta but not me?” Kokichi sniffles.

“This isn’t about trust,” Rantaro lies. “It’s about who is practical.”

Kaito cheeks flush. “H-Hey, I’m strong!”

“And hurt,” Kaede reminds him.

“There’s no way a twink could look after you,” Miu muses, looking at Kokichi. “Or that twink either!”

Shuichi pulls on his hat. “...”

“Well, if he insists he’s okay on his own,” Tsumugi hums. “Shouldn’t we leave him be? It’s already getting late…”

“I suppose so,” Kaede reluctantly agrees.

Rantaro lets out a sigh of relief. “Goodnight everyone.”

He hears the rest of the group wish him well before he goes into his room and closes his door. 

Rantaro closes his eyes before letting out a heavy sigh. Whilst he really doesn’t want to be on his own, he doesn’t exactly trust Kokichi enough to come into his bedroom. He’s made it clear by his actions tonight that he wants to watch everyone’s monopads. No doubt if Rantaro had let him in, he would’ve snooped around the room and then…

Kaito wasn’t a good choice either. The astronaut is hurt and Rantaro would’ve felt guilty making worry when he’s already got himself to worry about already. Kaito also makes Rantaro feels nervous too. What if he had tried to bring up about his motive video? No way.

And Shuichi... The two haven’t really spoke ever since the detective confronted him. From what Rantaro can tell, Shuichi is probably still suspicious of him. He’s lucky that the detective hasn’t found him on his own. Yet...he had a chance to. He could’ve offered sleep in Rantaro’s bedroom yet he didn’t. Whilst relieved he didn’t, Rantaro is also really confused. 

He flops down on his bed, pulling his blankets over him.

Truthfully, Rantaro doesn’t fall asleep for a long time, fitfully falling asleep with his monopads under his pillow.

\---

Someone knocks heavily on his door until he wakes up.

Rantaro opens his door with bleary eyes, rubbing them when he notices Kirumi’s worried expression. 

“Tojo? What’s wrong?”

“I…” She swallows. “Come with me.”

She leads him away from his bedroom, despite him still wearing last night’s clothes and directs him to the front of the academy, hesitating before opening the door.

He doesn’t have to look very far before he spots Maki with her arms crossed, grimly looking down at the body of the Ultimate Entomologist, Gonta Gokuhara.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the couple days wait! I'm not sure when the next chapter is going to come out because I plan on writing the next few chapters before posting them all so I don't make too many mistakes plot wise for the class trial. I hope you all understand!
> 
> I hope this doesn't look like I'm shamefully promoting myself but my tumblr is the same name as my username on here (although my blog isn't danganronpa specific) if you want to talk about the story or drv3 in general (fun fact, I've only played the 3rd game so my knowledge about the other two are not actually the best :,)) I'll probably occasionally yell on tumblr about how the chapters are doing tbh so you'll probably be able to figure out when I'll be posting next, maybe lolol
> 
> Thanks for reading!


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry this chapter took longer than usual to post! I wanted to write the majority of the trial before posting this in case I had to swap some things around. I've got most of the trial written at this point so I feel confident enough to post this! I'm also really hoping that the culprit doesn't look too obvious!
> 
> I've also noticed I've forgotten to write Tenko and Angie properly whilst they've been speaking. I'm hopefully going to try and fix that!
> 
> Thank you for reading and thanks for everyone who left a comment and left kudos :)))

Rantaro kneels down next to Gonta’s body, a cruel feeling of sadness caught in his throat. He swallows and feels his eyes sting. 

He ignores the sound of the announcement going off, instead opting to stay next to the gentleman silently. 

It’s hard to look at Gonta’s body. His knotted hair is splayed on the floor, body flailed out in an awkward position, apart from one hand that rests on his stomach. His eyes are still open, cold and unmoving and never to blink again. Rantaro reaches over and shuts them gently, allowing Gonta’s eyelids to flutter shut one last time. 

“I wouldn’t disturb the body too much,” Maki informs him. “We’ll probably have to investigate it.”

“Ah, you’re right,” Rantaro apologises, moving his hand away from Gonta’s face.

Rantaro had considered Gonta a friend in this place. Whilst he never fully trusted the entomologist, he feels as if he had lived longer, Rantaro probably would’ve grown to trust him fully. He puts his hands on his knees. Now Gonta is dead and they all have to find out why.

Everyone enters into the academy quickly, all having similar reactions when spotting the body.

“Oh no, not Gonta!” Angie looks genuinely disappointed. “I never got a piggyback ride from him!”

“That’s what you’re concerned about?” Ryoma raises one eyebrow, stuffing his hands into his pockets. He stands next to Maki, frowning down at the body.

“I’ll pray for him,” Angie ignores him, holding her hands together. “Gonta was a good boy! Surely Atua will welcome him with open arms.”

“He shouldn’t have to!” Kaito grits out. He’s removed the bandage from his head. “Why the hell did this happen?”

“We’ll probably have to figure that out,” Kirumi informs him. “I am sure that this time, the circumstances are going to be a lot different.”

“Huh? What do you mean?” Tenko asks.

“Last time,” Kirumi holds a finger up, “Ouma and Hoshi were able to easily figure out how Kiibo died. This time however, it seems as if…”

“Someone killed him,” Maki finishes her sentence. 

Kaede clenches her fist. “Why would…”

“Someone probably saw him as an easy target!” Kokichi buts in. 

“Cut that shit out!” Kaito glares at him. “At least show some respect! Gonta was probably the only person in this place that actually liked you when you gave him plenty reason not to! Don’t you feel anything?”

Kokichi scoffs but stays quiet.

“Do we just start investigating?” Tsumugi asks, peering around. “I’m not really sure I want to.”

“We’re gonna have to,” Himiko says. “What a pain. I was going to do my magic show this morning.”

“I think there’s more important things to worry about right now,” Kirumi reminds her.

“There is!” Monokuma announces, suddenly appearing in the room. “And you’re right! You all need to start investigating! The quicker the start, the better! You’ve got a time limit before the class trial starts!”

“What do you mean a time limit?” Kaede questions. “That’s not fair!”

“Life isn’t fair,” Monokuma replies easily. “Besides, don’t you want to find out who murdered your dear friend as soon as possible?”

“Of course we do!” Kaede argues. “But it’s not fair if we don’t have much time to investigate! What if we miss something?”

Monokuma shrugs. “You’ll have to be thorough then. It’s not my problem if you all don’t end up finding the true culprit! It just means there’s more fun for me!”

“Ah, that’s right,” Tsumugi pales, “if we don’t find the culprit then we all…”

“Then we all must investigate so that doesn’t happen,” Kirumi says. 

“That’s right!” Kaito agrees, his fists knocking into each other. “We’ll find out who killed Gonta!”

Rantaro swallows. He hates the situation they’re all in. He hates that Gonta is dead and he hates that they have to send someone else to their doom for killing him. He really hates that he has no idea who had done this and why they did it. Gonta was an innocent soul. He just wanted to help everyone. Why would someone decide to kill him of all people?

“Well, what are we waiting for?” Tenko pouts. “The sooner we start the sooner we can find out who did this!”

“I didn’t think you of all people would be passionate about finding Gokuhara’s killer, I thought you hated all males,” Kiyo says.

Tenko glares at him. “While all males are pests...Gonta was good. I could sense only good intentions from him, even if he was a male!”

“Wow, that’s so touching!” Kokichi’s eyes light up. “Can you sense any good intentions from me?”

“All I can sense coming from you is trouble,” Tenko sneers. “Now that Gonta is gone, there’s no good males left here!”

Rantaro sighs as he picks himself up from the floor, giving Gonta one last look before turning away. He pauses when he hears a chime come from his monopad as well as everyone else’s and takes it from his pocket like all the others do.

“Monokuma File?” Himiko reads out loud.

“Of course,” Monokuma says, “you all don’t think I’d leave you all at a disadvantage right? I like to make the trials equal for the participants and the killer!”

“Why would you want to make it fair for the killer?” Maki says, glaring down at her tablet. “Most of the stuff on here is vague anyway.”

Monokuma smirks. “So that things are more...interesting. A class trial where you figure everything out right away would be totally boring!”

“Oh, I agree,” Kokichi nods, his tablet not even out, “I hate boring trials!”

“You’ve been in a trial before?” Angie asks.

“Quite a few of them, actually,” Kokichi bashfully tells her, “I was quite the troublemaker back in the day.”

“Tsk, sounds about right,” Kaito mutters.

“Guys,” Kaede frowns at them. “We really should start investigating soon.”

“Why should I investigate?” Himiko sighs. “I don’t think I’ll be that helpful. Can’t we just let Saihara do it? He is a detective…”

“Yumeno,” Kaede sighs, sounding exasperated already. 

Shuichi looks at the body with a panicked look. “T-There’s only so much I can do on my own…”

“Eh, you haven’t even figured out who the culprit is yet?” Kokichi’s face scrunches up into a frown as he glares at the detective. “Some use you are!”

Kirumi ignores him. “It is only fair if we all investigate together,” she says, one finger up in the air. “After all, if we all fail the trial, we all get punished. Simply relying on Saihara to investigate is unfair.”

“May I suggest we all split up into pairs,” Kiyo suggests. “That way, we can cover more ground quickly and it also means that the killer won’t be able to mess with any of the evidence.”

A smothering silence falls over the group. That’s right. One of them is the killer. Someone killed Gonta and no one knows who did it.

“That’s a good idea,” Shuichi quickly says, “I’m not entirely sure where we need to investigate but right now, this room, Gonta’s bedroom and Gonta’s lab are probably the best places to look.”

“I see,” Kirumi pauses. “Then we should all head over to those places as soon as possible.”

“B-But what about partners?” Kaito splutters. 

“Easy, you just go up to someone and grab them like this!” Kokichi tells him, latching onto Rantaro’s arm. Rantaro sighs. He was expecting that. “See, now I caught myself a partner!”

There’s a purple blur and a yelp. Kaito yelps as he hits the floor, his starry coat spread out on the floor. Maki glares down at him, her red eyes cold and intimidating.

“What the hell do you think you’re doing?” she spits out, her cheeks lightly dusted pink.

Kaito rubs his head. “We’re going to be partners!”

“I want nothing to do with all of this,” she tells him, ready to storm off.

Lunging forwards, Kaito almost misses her wrist. He holds onto it tightly. “That’s not fair! We all need to stick together! I’ve already decided that you’re going to be my partner!”

Rantaro ignores the two as he watches everyone else slowly get into pairs.

Kaede hesitantly stands by Shuichi, who looks a little uncomfortable but offers the pianist a small smile. Are the two friends again? A little away from them, Miu clings tightly onto Kirumi, who has an impressive poker face as she helps the loud girl. Ryoma looks comically small next to Kiyo, who is reading over his monopad. Tenko obviously lunges for Himiko, who looks like she’s ready to fall asleep. Finally, Angie and Tsumugi stand side by side.

“Well, we better get investigating!” Kokichi says, tugging on Rantaro. He drags him straight towards the body, much to Rantaro’s dismay. 

“Do you even know how to investigate a body?” Rantaro asks him.

“Nope!”

“You better not be messing around, Ouma. This is serious.”

“Of course I know it’s serious!” Kokichi says, rolling his eyes.

As Kokichi kneels next to the body, Rantaro decides to read over the Monokuma File.

 _Victim: Gonta Gokuhara_  
_“The time of death is unknown.”_  
_“The victim was found at the entrance of the academy.”_  
_“Cause of death is blunt trauma to the head.”_  
_“There are also signs of an additional injury on the head, although it is unknown which injury caused the death. Additionally, the victim also has cuts on their foot, although it is unknown how the cuts were received.”_  
_“Victim did not die instantaneously.” ___

____

____

“Victim did not die instantaneously,” Rantaro repeats sadly. He looks at Gonta again. “I hope he didn’t suffer.”

“He isn’t making is easy for us to figure out what happened,” Kokichi says, “two head injuries! We don’t even know which one killed him!”

“Ouma,” Rantaro scolds. “Do not be disrespectful. We’re right next to him.”

“Eh, it’s not like he can hear us.”

Rantaro scowls, ready to really tell Kokichi off when Shuichi kneels on the other side of Gonta’s body. Kaede hovers behind the detective, her face looking rather green.

The detective carefully pushes Gonta’s hair back, revealing his face completely. Thankfully, Gonta’s eyes are still closed, so the body looks a little less haunting to look at. His face looks rather normal. The only problem is the cut that’s on the middle of the forehead. Whilst it’s shallow, it probably bled a lot due to the fine lines of pink blood that stain Gonta’s face. When Shuichi examines the blood closely, it’s completely dry, starting to crack a little on Gonta’s face.

The other injury is on the back of Gonta’s head. Shuichi gently lifts up Gonta’s head and finds the larger lump on the back of Gonta’s head. It’s hidden under a large knot of bloodied hair. The blood on the back of the head is also dry.

**Obtained truth bullet! “Injury on Gonta’s forehead”**

**Obtained truth bullet! “Injury on the back of Gonta’s head”**

“So that means the Monokuma file is telling the truth,” Kaede sweats. “So we have no choice but to believe it…”

“Eh, why do you only have one monopad between the two of you?” Kokichi suddenly asks.

“Akamatsu still hasn’t found her bag,” Shuichi answers, still checking over Gonta’s head. “Her monopad is in there. She’s got mine for now.”

“Then you better be careful!” Kokichi smiles. “You don’t want Akamatsu losing yours too!”

“I wouldn’t!” Kaede says defensively, holding Shuichi’s tablet to her chest. “Besides, you don’t have your one out either!”

“I couldn’t be bothered to read it,” Kokichi answers.

Kaede rolls her eyes. “Unbelievable!”

Shuichi ignores the two and heads for Gonta’s feet next. Gonta never wore shoes so his feet were always dirty and even know, they have a fine layer of dirt on them. 

“The dirt shouldn’t be a clue,” Shuichi says, “but his right foot does have a lot of small cuts on them. Hmm.”

“Wait a second,” Rantaro says, moving himself next to the detective. “I think I can see something.”

Shuichi’s eyes narrow as he looks over the foot again before they widen. “Ah!” He pulls out a tissue from his pocket and reaches towards the cuts. He pulls out something small and bloody.

“Glass?” Kaede moves in closer to see the small bloody piece of glass. 

“Is there anymore?” Rantaro asks.

Shuichi runs the tissue over the cuts again. A couple more pieces fall from the cuts. 

“Woah, those are really small,” Kokichi says, knocking into Rantaro to look at them. “I’ll probably need glasses to see them!”

“They are unusually small,” Shuichi agrees. “I don’t think that his foot injury would’ve caused his death. However...I wonder why his foot got injured in the first place.”

**Obtained truth bullet! “Glass in Gonta’s foot”**

“Wait a minute,” Rantaro pauses, looking up at Gonta again. “Ouma, I think you said something important.”

“Huh? I did?” Kokichi looks oblivious.

Rantaro looks back at Gonta’s face. “His glasses are missing.”

Shuichi and Kaede both look up at Gonta’s face before realisation appears on their faces. 

“You’re right!” Kaede says. 

“Perhaps the glass from his foot are from his glasses,” Rantaro suggests.

“It is a good theory,” Shuichi says, “the pieces of glass from Gonta’s foot were really small.”

“Then I guess we should look for his glasses,” Kaede says. “If we find out where they are, then maybe that’ll help us!”

“Ah, just before we do that,” Shuichi say to her. He reaches into Gonta’s pocket.

“Eh, what are you doing?” Kokichi looks scandalised. “I never thought Saihara would be the type to rob dead bodies!”

“I-I’m not!” Shuichi flushes. “He might have a clue on him.”

Rantaro shoots Kokichi a look. “That does make sense.”

“Oh, okay!” 

Kaede huffs from behind the boys as Shuichi pulls out Gonta’s own monopad. The rest of the pockets remain empty.

“He only had his monopad on him,” Shuichi declares, holding the tablet. “There’s no sign of his motive video…”

“Do you think he had it on him?” Kaede asks him.

“The only way to find out is by checking his bedroom. If it’s missing from there, then it means someone took it,” Shuichi says. 

“Oh, a mystery! How exciting!” Kokichi bounces up and down. 

Rantaro sighs, pulling himself up. “We should continue investigating. Who knows when Monokuma is going to stop us.”

“Right,” Kaede agrees. “Saihara and I will head to the dormitories to look for the monopad.”

“And Amami and I will go upstairs and totally have a look around!” Kokichi tells her.

Kokichi once again starts to drag Rantaro away but he quickly digs his heels into the floor when he looks down at it. 

“Ouma, wait a second.”

“Huh?”

Rantaro’s eyes narrow as he looks down at the floor. There’s...something off about it. He takes a couple of steps back and at the same time, a crack of sunlight forces it way through the windows, lighting up the ground.

“Oh! I see,” Kokichi says. He’s spotted it too. 

The ground near the bottom of the steps are an odd colour, different from the rest of the flooring around the academy. Rantaro crouches down to look at it. Upon closer inspection, he quickly realises why the floor is a different colour. 

“There’s smudges of blood,” Rantaro concludes, his stomach squeezing together.

“More like a trail!” Kokichi corrects him, hands on his hips.

Both of them follow the trail along the corridor. It goes past the toilets before stopping completely.

“Eh, how boring,” Kokichi pouts. 

Rantaro ignores him. “It’s strange how it just stops there. You would think that it would go straight to the body.”

“I think the culprit had a bit of a cleaning session, don’t you?” Kokichi grins at him.

The blood trail they had followed is smudged. Whilst there’s evidence that someone tried to clean it up, it’s clear they did a rather poor job of it since it’s still visible.

**Obtained truth bullet! “Smeared blood trail”**

Both of them head up the stairs to the next floor. They don’t see anyone when they continue down the hallway wordlessly and find the lab door for the Ultimate Maid open. Rantaro pokes his head inside and is surprised when he spots Kirumi and Miu inside.

“You’re both not investigating?” Kokichi crosses his arms. “That’s totally suspicious. Especially for you, mother!”

“Please stop calling me that,” Kirumi frowns.

Rantaro notices Miu sat on a chair, her arm leaning heavily on the table behind her, her posture suggesting that she’s calm despite her body looking rather tense. 

She jumps when he stands next to her.

“G-Give a girl some warning next time!” she bellows, one of her feet crashing down onto the floor loudly. The other foot is placed on top of a chair with the shoe off.

“Is everything alright, Iruma?” Rantaro asks. 

“Is everything alright?” Miu crosses her arms. “Of course it fucking isn’t! Some dipshit left something on the floor and...I, uh, k-kinda tripped.”

“So you’re clumsy and stupid?” Kokichi smirks.

Miu starts to sweat. “N-No I’m not! Don’t you know who the fuck I am?”

“Huh? Did you guys hear something?”

“Don’t fucking ignore me!”

Kirumi shakes her head. “We were heading towards Gokuhara’s lab to investigate when Iruma tripped on these.”

The maid reaches into her pocket and pulls out something that makes Rantaro’s eyes widen. 

“Gonta’s glasses!”

“I too found it strange that we found them upstairs,” Kirumi says, moving the glasses around to completely show them off. The frames are completely bent and there’s only small amounts of glass left attached to the frame. There’s also the smallest slithers of blood along the edges of the glass. “It seems Iruma wasn’t looking where she was going and fell because of these.”

“She tripped on glasses?” Rantaro finds that hard to believe.

Kirumi nods. “It seems Iruma has had a hard time lately getting around. She was holding on to me the entire time going upstairs. I’m not sure if it’s because of her shoes or if it’s something else but it’s a bit of a concern.”

“At least you were there to look after her,” Rantaro comments.

There’s a brief hint of a smile on Kirumi’s face. “I like to help as much as I can. I’m just thankful that she didn’t hurt herself too badly.”

Rantaro nods in agreement before holding out his hand. “Is there any chance I could have a closer look at the glasses?”

“Of course,” Kirumi hands the broken glasses over to him. “Please be careful with them.”

Rantaro holds the glasses on his palms, closely looking over them. There isn’t really much to say about them. They’re broken. However, it does look like the glass from the glasses matches the glass found in Gonta’s foot.

**Obtained truth bullet! “Broken glasses”**

“There are also some other things I would like to discuss with you,” Kirumi tells him. 

Rantaro opens his mouth to respond when there’s a clatter behind the two of them. He turns around to see Miu on the floor with Kokichi on top of her. She’s got a firm hold on his wrist as he tries to reach for her goggles.

“Get the fuck off me!” Miu yells. “Like hell I’d let the likes of you near me and my hole!”

“Like I’d want to be near your hole! Do you think I want to catch anything?”

“W-Wait! I-I’m clean!”

Kirumi has the same idea and ignores the two. Rantaro follows as she heads to the table and pulls a bucket out from under it and places it on the table with ease. 

“I found this whilst settling Iruma down,” she tells him. “I’m not sure I would’ve found it otherwise. It had been hidden rather well under all the chairs.

Rantaro peers inside the bucket. It’s full of dirty water and a discoloured sponge. It doesn’t take long before he realises that the water is dirtied with blood.

“I’m not really sure why this is here,” Kirumi admits quietly. “It...makes me look rather guilty.”

“Ah.” Rantaro never even thought about Kirumi being the culprit up until now. She’s looking down at the floor, her hands held together sadly. “Then we’ll just have to prove that you’re not.”

“I’m not sure how easy that will be,” Kirumi tells him. “There’s a lot of evidence that goes against me...but for the sake of the group, I'll make sure to prove my innocence."

“Yeah! That’s the spirit!” Kokichi calls from the floor.

Miu continues to struggle against him. 

“Will you both cut it out,” Rantaro pleads.

“I want to see her goggles!” Kokichi says.

“Get your grubby little hands off of ‘em! I’ll have you ruined if you hurt me! The whole world needs me!”

Kirumi shakes her head. 

“It seems that the culprit was trying to hide some evidence,” she continues. “Perhaps they were trying to clean up some blood?”

“That would make sense,” Rantaro agrees. “Ouma and I found a blood trail downstairs. However, it wasn’t really cleaned properly. The blood looked more smeared than clean. It also stopped around outside the bathroom too.”

“I see,” Kirumi holds up a gloved hand to her chin, “that is rather strange. Perhaps they only just used water to clean it up? Blood isn’t easy to clean up just using water.”

“Hmm,” Rantaro tries to think.

**Obtained truth bullet! “Bloody cleaning equipment”**

“You sure know a lot!” Kokichi say from the floor. Miu has finally knocked him off her. “Are you sure you aren’t the killer?”

“I had no reason to kill Gokuhara,” Kirumi firmly tells him. 

“N-Neither did I!” Miu pulls herself up back onto her chair. “It was p-probably him!”

“Me?” Kokichi blinks at Miu’s trembling finger that’s pointed in his direction. 

Rantaro wants to slam his head against the wall. “Now really isn’t the time to be throwing accusations around.”

“Of course,” Kirumi agrees. “I’ll finish up looking around here. You two can go back to exploring if you like.”

“That’s probably for the best!” Kokichi skips towards the door. “Come on, Amami! We need to find out who did this! Quit wasting time!”

Kirumi shoots him a sympathetic look as he heads out of the room. Kokichi has already ran on ahead, having spotted Tsumugi and Angie outside of Gonta’s lab.

“Yoohoo! Over here!” Angie waves her hands around. “Rantaro, just the person we needed!”

“Me?” Rantaro falters. “What’s wrong?”

“We can hear bugs flying around inside the lab,” Tsumugi says, trembling. 

“Atua said to ask Kaito to help us but…”

“He ran away crying.”

“He did?” Kokichi starts to cackle. “Oh man, I wish I was there to see that!”

Rantaro crosses his arms. “I wonder why there are bugs out in the first place? Didn’t Tojo and Gonta stay behind last night to clear them up?”

“I don’t think Gonta would’ve forgotten to put all of his bugs away,” Tsumugi says, “he really loved them.”

“Which is really weird,” Kokichi shudders. “Why would someone like bugs? They’re disgusting!”

“Atua says you’re being disrespectful,” Angie announces, “there’s no way you can go to heaven now unless you apologise!”

Kokichi rolls his eyes. “So, Amami? Are you going to brave Gonta’s lab?”

Rantaro really doesn’t want to go inside but he has no choice. He takes a deep breath before grabbing hold of the door handle and steps inside the room, closing the door behind him quickly. He flinches when he hears the bugs buzz by him and cracks open his eyes to have a quick scan around.

Gonta’s lab looks relatively normal. All of the boxes have been put away along the walls. In fact, the lab looks rather spotless if you ignored the one inconsistency. On the floor is a knocked over box. A small amount of soil is spilled onto the floor and the lid is a little away from the box. Rantaro edges over to it and kneels to get a closer look of the box. He’s not really sure what sort of bug was inside the box but he highly doubts that matters. Once again, the bugs zoom past him at an alarming speed. 

**Obtained truth bullet! “Knocked over box” ******

********

********

Rantaro dashes out of the room and slams closed the door behind him, his chest heaving. 

“Oh my,” Angie giggles. 

“Amami!” Kokichi knocks his body right against him, his arms wrapped tightly around his waist. “I was scared that you were going to be eaten alive!”

“Eaten alive?” Tsumugi shudders. “That’s a horrible way to go.”

“Atua agrees. It’s probably better if you were eaten dead!”

“That’s still horrible!”

Rantaro gets his breath back and gently knocks Kokichi’s hands away from him. “The only clue in there was probably that there was a knocked over box. Apart from that, the room looked spotless. Clearly Tojo had helped cleaned up in there.”

“So was Tojo the last person to see Gonta?” Tsumugi timidly asks. “She was the one who said she would help clean up with him when we all left.”

“Oh no! Things aren’t looking too good for poor Tojo!” Kokichi cries. “My poor mother! I’m going to be abandoned again!”

“It’s too early to be guessing the culprit,” Rantaro says, trying to calm everyone down. “Tojo will defend herself if she isn’t the culprit. If she can prove she’s innocent, then she’ll be fine.”

“And if she can’t?” Kokichi smirks. 

Rantaro frowns. “There are plenty of other students to suspect too.”

Kokichi opens his mouth, clearly ready to say something when there’s loud stomping. The group turned around to see Tenko and Himiko head down the hallway towards them.

Tenko’s eyebrows are furrowed together whilst Himiko face shows no emotion. 

“Chabashira, are you okay?” Tsumugi asks. “You look really angry.”

“Tenko is just mad that Yumeno never got to do her magic show!” Tenko declares. “We went to the gym to make sure everything was okay but then Yumeno spotted something.

“You did? Ooh, tell us!” Angie demands excitedly.

“I don’t know if it’s important,” Himiko admits. “I was looking out of the window when I saw there was a big hole in the other window.”

“The other window?” Rantaro pauses.

“Ah, you mean Hoshi’s window, right?” Tsumugi looks proud of herself. 

Tenko firmly nods. “So we decided to come up here and investigate his lab a little.”

Rantaro’s glad that he’s got something else to investigate now. He was starting to worry that there was nothing else to look at. With the amount of clues he has right now, he’s not sure how long they’d last in the class trial. He really has no idea who could’ve done this.

“Don’t look too worried, Amami!” Kokichi says. “I’m sure we’ll figure something out! If not, Saihara will probably be a big help! He is a detective, after all!”

Rantaro blinks before feeling a small amount of tension leave his shoulders. As wary as he is of Shuichi, he still is a detective. He'll be the most useful person for a class trial. “Yeah, I guess you’re right.”

“Silly, Amami! I’m always right!” Kokichi coos before dashing off to Ryoma’s lab.

At first glance, there really isn’t anything that stands out in Ryoma’s lab. The lab clearly looks untouched, which was probably Ryoma’s intention. The tennis player really made no effort to try and play tennis. The nets are still up, the tennis machine still serves balls across the room. Rantaro watches as a green tennis ball flies past his face. He makes his way over to the shower room, the place that needs to be investigated the most.

The shower room still looks cruel. The handcuffs are all lined up on the wall, the shower doors still open. Even the sink looks normal and untouched. Rantaro inspects it closely. There’s not even a mark on it. He wonders if it’s even been used before. 

Only the window suggests that there’s been someone inside. There’s a few pieces of glass on the floor outside of the window. The rest of the glass must’ve fallen towards the swimming pool. 

“Ah hah! So Yumeno was right!” Tenko looks pleased with herself. “Good job, Yumeno!”

“Nyeh.” Whilst Himiko’s expression doesn’t change, Rantaro senses that the magician is also happy.

“The hole doesn’t really look that big,” Rantaro muses, stepping closer to try and get a better look of it. The glass cracks under his feet. He wonders how the hole got there in the first place. He can conclude that perhaps something was thrown through it. There’s no blood on the edges of the blood so that could only mean that an object was thrown through the window. 

**Obtained truth bullet! “Broken window”**

“Perhaps someone should go to the swimming pool and see if they can find something that could’ve broken the window?” Rantaro suggests.

“We’ll go!” Tenko volunteers. “Tenko will be fast enough to check!”

She runs out of the room, her feet pounding against the floor as she pulls Himiko out along with her, the magician letting out a really loud sigh as she allows herself to be bodily pulled out of the room. 

“I wonder why Hoshi’s window is broken?” Kokichi asks, on his tiptoes so he can get a better look. “Perhaps we should speak to him.”

“Ah!”

“Hmm?”

“Testimonies!” Rantaro says. It’s only dawned on him that he should’ve been talking to people whilst looking around. “We need to get everyone’s alibis!”

“You only realised that now?” Kokichi asks, grinning. “I don’t think we’ll have that much time to talk to everyone before the trial.”

“That doesn’t mean we can’t ask them during the trial too,” Rantaro tells him. He looks down at Kokichi expectantly.

“Eh, you want to know what I was up too?”

“Of course.”

“Y-You suspect me?” Kokichi sniffles before stopping. “Because that is completely the right thing to do! Good job, Amami! It’s important to suspect absolutely everyone and don’t trust anyone!”

“Well,” Rantaro hesitates. 

“If you must know,” Kokichi tells him, “I did actually see something last night!”

“You did?”

“Yep! Outside of the dormitories!”

“Why were you outside of your room?”

Kokichi waves a dismissive hand. “That doesn’t matter right now. I saw someone head towards the dormitories really early. They panicked when they spotted me and left before I could see them.”

“Are you sure you couldn’t make out who they were?”

“Absolutely not! It was only for a split second! I was going to follow them but I was too tired.”

Rantaro heavily sighs. “Still, why on earth were you out in the dormitories so early anyway?”

“If I told you, I’d have to kill you!” Kokichi laughs. “Sorry, Amami!”

**Obtained truth bullet! “Kokichi’s testimony”**

“Actually, Ouma,” Rantaro continues. “There’s something else I need to ask you.”

“Wow, I must be really popular!” Kokichi says, tugging on his scarf. “It’s an honor, really. You’re going to make me blush.”

“This is serious,” Rantaro reminds him. “Last night, you took a lot of videos, correct?”

“Oh yeah, I totally did,” Kokichi agrees. 

“Did you take Gonta’s?”

“Hmm…” Kokichi thinks for a moment. “Nope!”

Rantaro rubs his head in confusion. “Why wouldn’t you take Gonta’s?”

“He wouldn’t let me!” Kokichi huffs. “He was being a big meanie! Usually he’s a pushover but he insisted that I didn’t watch his! I don’t even know whose video he had!”

“You didn’t?” Rantaro asks in surprise. 

“Don’t you remember?” Kokichi asks him. “I didn’t steal everyone’s videos. A lot of them were missing.”

That’s right. Kokichi never found all of the videos.

**Obtained truth bullet! "Motive videos"**

Rantaro tries to think. Gonta didn’t want to let Kokichi watch his video. But why? Did Gonta receive his own video and was too worried to tell or show anyone what was on it? No, that can’t be right. 

“You look like you've just realised something,” Kokichi says.

“Last night at Gonta’s...party,” Rantaro says. “I remember him saying something. I think he wanted someone specific to be there.”

“Hmm? Specific? Kokichi looks surprised. “He didn’t mention anything like that to me. How rude. I thought we were best friends!”

“Why would Gonta want someone specific at the party,” Rantaro ponders to himself. 

“To kill them?” Kokichi smiles.

“Maybe he got a really bad video and wanted to protect everyone,” Rantaro says.

Kokichi chokes. “You actually thought I was being serious?”

Rantaro shakes his head. “Gonta really wanted to protect everyone. Maybe he wanted everyone in the same place so that he could warn everyone about the person?”

Kokichi sniffles. “Man, now I really miss Gonta!”

**Obtained truth bullet! “Rantaro’s testimony”**

Rantaro starts to head down the hallway, intending to find the others when he hears a door slam. Maki pushes Kaito out of her lab, a dark scowl on her face as she does so. Rantaro quickly rushes over, Kokichi right behind him. 

“Hey, it’s Amami!” Kaito sounds excited.

“What about me? Kokichi looks dejected.

He’s completely ignored. “I really wanted to investigate but,” Kaito smiles obliviously, “Makiroll really wanted to stay at her lab!”

“Don’t call me that ever again,” Maki glares.

“Aw, what a cute name!” Kokichi simpers. “Makiro-ack!”

Maki stamps on Kokichi’s foot. He tumbles and clings onto Rantaro for support.

Kaito sighs loudly. “Makiroll…”

“So did neither of you actually investigate?” Rantaro asks, a little disappointed. 

“No,” Maki firmly tells him. 

“We’ll you’re both useless,” Kokichi says, reluctantly putting his foot back down on the floor. “Wait, don’t tell me you were both trying to hide evidence! Shame on you both!”

“No we weren’t!” Kaito argues. “We were both just chilling in Makiroll’s lab!”

“What did I say about you calling me that?” Maki reminds him, her voice low.

Kaito bravely ignores her. “We can both vouch for each other! We weren’t doing anything suspicious at all!”

“Actually, both of you being inside Harukawa’s lab is a little suspicious,” Rantaro tells him. 

Maki’s red eyes glared at him. “Why?”

“You haven’t let anyone in your lab at all,” Rantaro tells her. “It’s quite suspicious that you’d just let Momota in out of the blue.”

“It’s not like I wanted him in,” Maki pouts, fiddling with a strand of hair. 

“You didn’t?”

“He ran inside after Yonaga asked him to go into Gokuhara’s lab,” Maki explains. “After that he just kept looking around.”

“She’s got some really cool stuff in there!” Kaito tells them. Maki harshly elbows him in the ribs. 

“I've only managed to get him out,” Maki says. 

“Sounds believable!” Kokichi smiles at Maki. She looks like she’s ready to throw him down the stairs.

Rantaro clears his throat. “Anyway, I’m trying to find people to ask about their alibis.”

“Alibis?” Kaito repeats.

“Yeah,” Rantaro nods. 

Maki sighs loudly. “Do you even know what time the murder took place?”

“No?”

“Then why ask,” she huffs. “Unless you know the specific time of the murder, asking around now would be pointless.”

“...” Rantaro feels his cheeks go hot. 

“Wow! You really are stupid, Amami!” Kokichi smiles.

“You didn’t say it was a bad idea!” Rantaro splutters, sounding a little more than defensive.

“Makiroll,” Kaito says, “do you not have anything to say? I’d feel bad if we went to the class trial with nothing…”

Maki pauses before rolling her eyes. “Fine. If you must know, there were several loud bangs throughout the early hours of this morning. They weren’t one after another though. They all sounded different though. I didn’t feel like going out to check so I stayed in my lab all night.”

“Several loud bangs?” Rantaro rubs his chin. “Hmm.”

**Obtained truth bullet! “Maki’s Testimony”**

“That’s all I can offer,” Maki scowls. “There, happy?”

“For now,” Rantaro admits. 

He leaves Maki to bicker with Kaito.

“Man, how much longer do you think we’ll have?” Kokichi asks. “When Monokuma said we had a short amount of time, I thought he meant really short!”

“Don’t jinx it,” Rantaro says as he briskly speedwalks. He abruptly stops when a door opens in front of him.

“My apologies!” Kirumi looks startled as she holds the door. Miu stumbles out of the room after her. 

“It’s no problem,” Rantaro tells her. 

“Don’t tell me that I’m gonna get stuck with the midget cock sucker again,” Miu trembles.

Kokichi’s eyes light up and he runs towards her, leaping on top of her. Miu starts screaming again.

“Ah, Amami,” Kirumi says. “There’s something I must tell you actually.”

“Really?”

“Yes, it’s about this morning,” Kirumi continues. “Were you aware that Ouma was sleeping outside of your bedroom?”

Rantaro feels startled. “He was?”

“I’ll take that as a no,” Kirumi shakes her head. “I saw him outside of your bedroom door. He said he was protecting you or something like that. He also said that he took Gokuhara’s pillow as punishment for not being with you.”

Rantaro allows the new information to sink in. Kokichi had been outside of his bedroom all of last night?

**Obtained truth bullet! “Kirumi’s testimony”**

“I’m glad that he didn’t disturb you throughout the night,” Kirumi says. “I really had no idea why he was there.”

“Me too,” Rantaro says, glancing over at Kokichi.

He’s got himself on top of Miu’s back, his arms wrapped around her shoulders. She’s yelling whilst trying to push him off.

Rantaro wants to cut in when the sound of a bell goes off.


	7. Chapter 7

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm super sorry it took me so long to publish this chapter! Thank you all for your patience!
> 
> My one worry about this chapter is that it's a little boring. It's rather dialogue heavy due to it being a trial but I also made sure it wasn't too long either so that it isn't too tedious to read. There's a lot of 'he says' and 'she says' but I'm hoping that the everyone's personalities will balance out the fact that the chapter is pure dialogue lol. I'm also hoping that I never made the culprit too obvious!! Maybe it's because I already know who it is but when I reread the chapter I was kind of like oh no!! 
> 
> So far there might be three parts to the trial, this being the first part. However, depending on how long the third part will be I might just add it onto the second chapter. If the third part ends up being long however, I might just stick to keeping the trial around three chapters long, depending on how complex they become.
> 
> Thank you for reading and I hope you all enjoy!!

Rantaro’s hands shake as he walks towards the class trial. The strong sense of unease chokes the group. Last time he had been almost killed and was in more of a state of shock over anything to really grasp the situation. The group also easily figured out the culprit without much research. Rantaro glances at Kokichi, who is a little in front of him. Hopefully he’ll be as much help as he was in the last trial. 

Kirumi clears her throat as she catches up to Rantaro. They’re outside and once again, it’s sunny. Rantaro glares up at the mocking sky, the light burning his eyes.

“Hopefully the group is fully prepared,” Kirumi says. If she’s uncertain she is certainly hiding it well. Her head is held high but she doesn’t look anywhere but forward. Rantaro can see why she would make such a good secret Prime Minister. “I intend to do my very best to find the killer, for the group and for Gokuhara.”

“Me too,” Rantaro agrees. He’s going to face this class trial head on and do his best to pinpoint the culprit. If he doesn’t, then it really will be the last thing he’ll do. 

“I’m afraid I didn’t get much investigating done,” Kirumi’s eyebrows furrowed together. “Most of my time was spent helping Iruma. I am deeply sorry.”

“It’s not your fault,” Rantaro tries to reassure her. “Honestly, I’m not sure there was much evidence to find in the first place.”

Outside the red door, the group huddles together closely. 

“I think that’s everyone,” Kaede says, her eyes scanning the group. She nods her head in satisfaction. “Right. I’m sure everyone is a little scared right now but we all really need to try our best to find the culprit. Gonta...shouldn’t have gotten killed.”

“Are you going to take responsibility for his death, cause you know, you were supposed to be leading us,” Kokichi asks her.

“Why would Akamatsu be responsible for Gonta’s death?” Tsumugi pauses. “Unless...she tried to kill someone again?”

Kaede jumps. “No, that’s not what happened!”

“Phew, that’s a relief!” Angie plucks out a paintbrush from her pocket. “Atua says you’re already on thin ice!”

Maki sighs loudly. “What he means is that you all stupidly decided Akamatsu should be your leader again. This is the second time someone’s died under her watch.”

“Hey!” Kaito shakes his head at Maki. “If anyone is at fault here, it’s the killer!”

Kaede straightens her shoulders. “It’s okay, Kaito. I can see where they’re coming from. I should’ve tried better to keep the group united. It looks like I failed with that…” She takes a deep breath. “However, it’s really important that we all work together to complete this class trial! Gonta was a dear friend to all of us and we can’t let him down by not bringing his killer to justice! I might’ve failed protecting him when he was alive but I’ll make sure to do whatever I can to make sure he didn’t die in vain!”

“Inspiring speech, Bakamatsu,” Miu cackles, “let’s go and avenge big dick!”

“Yes, let’s avenge bi, ah, Gonta!” Tsumugi agrees, her eyes lighting up under her glasses.

“Come on, Makiroll,” Kaito grins at her, “you don’t have to like Kaede right now but for now, we need to work together!”

“I don’t plan on dying just yet,” Maki scowls at him, shaking her head so her brown pigtails sway side to side. “Just because you like speeches about love and friendship doesn’t mean I do.”

“At least just help us a little,” Kaito bargains. 

“Don’t worry!” Kokichi buts into the conversation loudly. “We can always rely on our very trustworthy detective if things go south!”

Shuichi pulls on his hat. “I’ll do the best I can…”

“Of course you will,” Kaede smiles at him. “I believe in you!”

“And so do I!” Kaito pounds his fists together. “Blow them away with your awesome detective skills, Saihara!”

Kaede and Shuichi must’ve talked things through. Perhaps it’s a good thing that they’re friends again. The two did seem rather close when they first arrived here. As long as the two of them stick together, perhaps they’ll leave Rantaro alone. He doesn’t need Shuichi poking around more. Maybe it’s selfish of him but Rantaro would rather have Shuichi leave him alone for now and maybe stick to helping the group out. He’s already dealing with Kokichi’s suspicions and he’s already tiring enough to deal with. 

“Ah, Amami!”

Rantaro frowns when Shuichi quickly heads over to him. 

“Yes?”

“I checked Gonta’s bedroom,” Shuichi informs him. “Hoshi and Shinguji were already inside. The room was completely normal. However, Gonta’s motive video wasn’t there. If he didn’t have his video on him or in his room…”

“That is a concern,” Rantaro agrees.

**Obtained truth bullet! “Missing motive video”**

The group all wait in heavy silence for the elevator to arrive. Some of them are still dazed after seeing a rather buff Monokuma statue explode for the second time. Rantaro wonders how intimidating Monokuma would be if he actually looked like that. He tries to push out the thoughts of a six foot ripped bear chasing him down the halls. 

“It’s here!” Tenko announces, holding onto Himiko’s hand as she pulls her towards the elevator.

“I hope we find the culprit quickly,” Himiko complains. “I want to take a nap…”

“You can take a nap after the trial,” Kirumi tells her.

“That’s if we survive,” Kiyo points out.

Kaede pouts. “We’re supposed to remain optimistic!”

“Yeah, about Gonta dying!” Kokichi cackles, ducking away from Kaito’s hand.

“That’s not what she meant and you know it!” he yells, chasing Kokichi into the elevator.

“I’m starting to get a headache,” Maki sighs, stepping inside.

Angie holds her hands together. “I’m sure Atua will help us!”

“I hope so too,” Rantaro says, stepping into the elevator with Shuichi behind him.

“As long as we have enough evidence, we should be fine,” Ryoma reassures him. 

“Unlike the rest of you, I found lots of evidence!” Miu brags as she takes a step forwards. She walks into Rantaro, who helps her stay upright. 

“I highly doubt that,” Tsumugi giggles.

The elevator doors close and traps them all inside the small box. Rantaro’s heart thumps loudly as the elevator cheerfully drops down, potentially taking them all to their doom. Really, this is their first real class trial. Rantaro’s hands go slick with sweat and his ears roar as they drop down further and further. He has to do this, he has to find out who killed Gonta. He has to save everyone and keep them alive. He hasn’t had chance to open the secret door yet.

He’s hit with a pang of guilt. He had been too slow to save Kiibo and now he’d been too slow to help Gonta. After this trial, he needs to buckle down and try to get that door open. He needs to expose the mastermind before someone else falls victim to this sick killing game.

The red elevator doors slowly creak open and once again, they’re in the class trial room. Light flutters through the colourful glass windows that causes an explosion of colour to cover the room.

Rantaro turns his head with the rest of the students to Gonta’s podium. There’s a big red cross covering his face but upon closer inspection, the two lines looked like two stick insects. 

He takes his place next to Tsumugi and next to Gonta’s picture. Rantaro feels shame as he looks at the photo. He's really let Gonta down.

“I see that everyone is here!” Monokuma is in a really good mood. “Hopefully you’re all smart enough to remember the rules for last time but for all the newcomers, I’ll give you all a brief recap! One of you killed someone and if the group find out who the blackened is, they’ll receive an extra special punishment designed just for them!” Monokuma’s eyes glint. “However if you pick the wrong person then everyone besides the blackened shall be killed instead! Either way is completely fine to me! Puhuhuhuhu!”

“What do you mean by newcomers?” Maki questions, eyes narrowed.

“Duh, me means me! I would’ve thought someone whose chest is as good use as an ironing board would remember someone as busty as me!” Miu cackles. “You all better prepare yourselves! The great Miu Iruma will have this case solved in no time!”

“Really?” Himiko brightens up. “That’s a relief. Who was it then?”

“D-Don’t ask straight away,” Miu curls a strand of her around her finger. “I still need time to think!”

“Man, I knew you were going to be a disappointment,” Kokichi slams his hands down on his podium. “Clearly you’re unreliable!”

“H-Heeee..”

“Ouma,” Kaede snaps, “we’re supposed to be working together, not bullying each other.”

“That’s right,” Kirumi agrees. “Right now, I suggest that we review the information on the Monokuma File.”

“Okay then, everyone get your monopads out!” Kokichi looks at Kaede.

“You know I don’t have mine!”

“Don’t worry, Akamatsu!” Tenko reassures her. “Yumeno has a kind heart and will surely share her tablet with you!”

“I don’t want to read anyway,” Himiko admits, passing her tablet over to Kaede with no hesitation. 

“I think it’s rather peculiar how a lot of information is missing or unknown,” Kiyo points out. “We have no idea when the murder took place or which injury caused Gonta’s death.”

“The monopad,” Rantaro continues, “also states that the body was found at the entrance of the academy. It doesn’t state that he was killed there.”

“So he was murdered somewhere else?” Kaito asks. “Man, you’d have to be pretty strong to move Gonta.”

“Does that mean the killer is a male?” Tsumugi flexes her arm. “It’s plain to see that I’m not really that strong.”

“Nuh uh,” Kokichi shakes his head. “Akamatsu could’ve probably done it! She works out using shot put balls! She could’ve easily picked up Gonta’s body and moved it!”

“Ouma! If you try to try to accuse Kaede of being the murderer one more time-” Kaito’s face goes red.

“You’re gonna what?” Kokichi sneers. “She tried to kill poor Amami last time! Who isn’t to say that she didn’t kill Gonta?”

“I apologised!” Kaede tells him. “And Amami accepted my apology, you were there!”

“Still,” Maki cuts in. “We should discuss every possibility.”

“Makiroll,” Kaito sighs.

_Nonstop Debate_

Kokichi pumps his fists. “Akamatsu has already tried to kill someone before! Who isn’t to say she wouldn’t try again?”

“There’s really no evidence to say that she did,” Kiyo points out.

“I promised I would get everyone out of here!” Kaede cries. “Why would I kill someone?”

“Don’t worry, Akamatsu!” Tenko reassures her. “Ouma is just being a nasty male!”

“If Akamatsu isn’t the killer,” Maki states, “then she needs to prove it.”

“Yeah! She probably got another shot put ball and wham! Smacked Gonta over the head with it!”

_Counter!_

“Ouma,” Rantaro sighs. “I don’t know what your obsession with Akamatsu and shot put balls are but there were no shot put balls at the scene of the crime. In fact, there was no murder weapon.”

“Oh, there wasn’t?” Kokichi smirks. He’s definitely just been winding everyone up this entire time.

“Amami is right,” Shuichi quietly says, “there was no weapon to be found.”

“Then how did Gonta get injured?” Angie asks. “Angie is so confused!”

“Obviously the killer wouldn’t keep the weapon at the scene of the crime,” Kiyo points out, his eyes fluttering closed. “It’s likely that the killer removed the weapon. I’d imagine it was something rather heavy however.”

Kaito glares over at Kokichi. “Don’t you dare suggest that it was a shot put ball!”

Kokichi snaps his fingers. “Oh man! Well, I’m stumped!”

“May I suggest that we change the subject for now?” Kirumi suggests. “It’s clear that we’ve come to a deadend right now.”

“But isn’t the weapon important?” Himiko asks.

“Right now,” Shuichi explains to her, “we don’t really know much about how Gonta died to guess what the weapon is.”

“Maybe we should all talk about the last time we all saw Gonta,” Rantaro suggests. “That way, we can try and figure out when he was last seen alive. If we know that, then we might be able to figure out when he was killed.”

“Hmph, that’s easy!” Tenko says. “The last time Tenko saw Gonta was when Ouma took him! He was supposed to help us finish up for Yumeno’s magic show!”

“Ah, that’s right!” Tsumugi agrees. “Ouma took him away because he saw some new bugs!”

“Turns out the little shit was lying,” Miu announces. “That fucker trapped us in Gonta’s lab for ages! I still have bite marks on my boobs!”

“Oh? What were you all doing in there?” Angie’s eyes light up. “And why wasn’t Angie invited?”

Kaede sighs. “It wasn’t anything like...that. Ouma tricked Gonta into bringing us all into his lab. After that, Ouma left and Gonta…”

“Made us experience hell,” Kaito shudders.

“You all went to hell?” Himiko sounds a little surprised. “Gonta must’ve had a lot of magic to take you all there.”

“No,” Kirumi shakes her head. “Gokuhara wanted to show us all his bugs. However,” Kirumi smiles grimly, “it wasn’t a pleasant experience.”

“He made you look at his bugs?” Kiyo asks. “That must’ve been...unfortunate.”

“It went on for at least two hours!” Kaito complains. “I was almost buried alive in them!”

“You kept using me as a shield,” Rantaro reminds him, shuddering.

“So how many of you were there?” Ryoma asks. 

“There was me, Saihara, Kaito, Tojo, Iruma, Amami and Shirogane,” Kaede checks off the names on her fingers. “Ouma left as soon as it started. Saihara left to go and find him. I think he was gone for twenty minutes before returning with Ouma?”

“Was Gonta with you all the entire time?” Tenko asks.

“Yeah,” Kaito confirms. “Amami asked him to show him more bugs…”

“It was you who fucking made big dick have another release?” Miu sweats. “What sort of shit are you into?”

“Trust me,” Rantaro says, “I was only trying to make a distraction for Saihara to escape.”

“I’m sorry I took so long,” Shuichi apologies, head down.

“It’s not your fault!” Kaede reassures him. “If anything, it’s his!”

“Me?” Kokichi rolls his eyes at Kaede’s finger. “Geez, why do people always suspect me!”

“Because you’re the most sketchy looking person here!” Miu yells at him. “You look like you’ve just fucking escaped a loony bin! No wonder, you act like you’ve got a few screws loose!”

“You were the one who made Gokuhara trap us,” Kirumi reminds him. 

“If I’m correct,” Rantaro says, “you were looking for all the motive videos.”

“Bingo!” Kokichi agrees. “But they were all so boring!”

“As much as I disapprove of your actions,” Kaede shakes her head, “did you actually see anything useful?”

“Nope!” Kokichi instantly replies. “They were all boring! Although…”

“Although what?” Kiyo looks intrigued. 

“I did watch Gonta’s video!”

“You did?!” Tenko throws her arms up in surprise.

“Ouma! You should’ve mentioned that earlier!” Kaede scolds him. “That’s something really important!”

“Why would that be important?” Himiko asks.

“It could be a clue,” Kirumi says. “If we find out who had Gokuhara’s video, then maybe that might lead us to the culprit.”

“Well,” Kaito asks. “Does anyone want to own up now?”

“Of course no one is going to respond to that,” Ryoma tells him. 

“Don’t worry!” Kokichi says. “I remember who had whose video!”

“And, who had big dick’s?” Miu snaps.

“Duh! You did!”

“M-Me?!”

“You had Gonta’s video?” Rantaro raises an eyebrow. “Why didn’t you say anything from the start?”

“B-Because I,” Miu starts to tremble, “well, you see, I didn’t watch it...that’s right! I didn’t give in to my urges unlike all you virgins! You all probably couldn't help but want to watch your videos! I betcha all thought you were going to find something proper fucking dirty!”

“Is that true?” Angie clasps her hands together. “You better not be lying!”

“Why the fuck would I lie?!”

"If Iruma had Gonta’s video…” Tsumugi looks around. “Then she’s plainly suspicious!”

“N-No I’m not!”

_Nonstop Debate_

“I didn’t kill him!” Miu pleads. 

“You had his motive video,” Kiyo reminds her. “The fact that you didn’t tell anyone just raises suspicions.”

“I-I didn’t know I had it!” Miu howls.

“You could be lying,” Maki murmurs.

“Maybe she wanted to use the video to lure Gonta somewhere and kill him?” Himiko suggests.

“Ooh, that’s rather sneaky of you!” Kokichi smirks.

“But would Gonta really kill someone over his motive video?” Shuichi quietly asks. “He wanted to be a gentleman. I don’t think he wanted to watch it.”

_Consent!_

Rantaro lifts his head up. “I think Saihara is correct.”

“Duh, of course he’s correct!” Kaito cheers. “But, what is he correct about?”

“About Gonta wanting to watch his motive video,” Rantaro explains. “Whilst Iruma had his video, I really don’t think she watched it. Why she didn’t watch it…I’m not entirely sure yet. However, I remember Gonta saying something at the party.”

“You do?” Kirumi asks. 

Rantaro nods. “After the party was finished, Gonta mentioned something about really wanting something. Although he never finished what he was saying, he did mention that it was his own idea to throw the party. Whilst Ouma thought that the party was to distract people, Gonta genuinely wanted people to come. However, I think he might’ve wanted someone specific to come.”

“Hold up, how did you get to that conclusion?” Tenko questions. “He never finished what he was saying!”

“Actually,” Kaede says. “I think I remember Gonta mentioning that he wanted to bring someone specific too. Right before he brought all his bugs out he said he wanted to bring something, or in this case, someone. I guess it makes more sense that he wanted a person there.”

“I see, I see,” Angie hums, “so what Gonta really wanted to do was throw his bug party for someone!”

“Well, not exactly,” Rantaro tells her. “I think that he got a bad video and wanted everyone there to warn them.”

“Then why throw a party?” Himiko asks. “I wouldn’t throw a party to just show everyone a video.”

“Actually,” Tsumugi says, “wasn’t it Ouma who wanted the party too?”

“Yep!” Kokichi easily agrees. “I needed a distraction for everyone! What better way than to get close and personal with a load of stinky bugs!”

“I can think of quite a few better alternatives,” Kirumi says. 

“Wait, wait, wait!” Miu yells, “what does all this have to do with me?”

“Well, Rantaro says, “Gonta said he wanted someone specific at the party. You were already there at the party so clearly it wasn’t you who he was looking for. He probably didn’t even know you had his video.”

“So I’m innocent?” Miu asks. “Fuck yeah! Suck it, nerds!”

“But Tenko is still confused,” Tenko admits, pressing her fingers together. “We still have no idea who the killer is.”

“We did establish that Gonta wanted someone specific at the party,” Ryoma reminds her. “Gonta probably got the killer’s video.”

“He did?” Himiko blinks. “Then whose video did he get?”

“I’m not sure,” Rantaro admits.

“Wouldn’t Ouma know?” Kiyo inquires. “He did steal a lot of the videos from what I’ve heard.”

Kokichi sniffles. “Gonta wouldn’t let me take his video! He was so mean!”

“Maybe if we all say whose videos we got, we can try and figure out whose video Gonta got?” Shuichi suggests.

“That won’t work,” Maki firmly tells him. “Some people might’ve not watched their videos. The killer could also lie too. We’d just be making useless calculations doing that.”

“We can’t bring them out as proof either,” Kaede sweats. “My bag is still missing.”

“I, uh, also lost my video!” Kaito laughs awkwardly.

“How do you lose an entire video?” Tenko seems taken aback. “Trust a degenerate male to lose something so important!”

“I lost mine too,” Himiko says.

“Well,” Tenko sweats heavily, “of course anyone could lose their video! I lost mine too!”

“Isn’t your video poking out of your pocket?” Angie points towards Tenko’s skirt, her video clearly stuffed inside the pocket. 

“Well, it seems we’re at another dead end,” Kirumi states. 

“But we can’t give up hope!” Kaede pumps her fists. “We’ve just learned something really important!”

“Hey, Shyhara? Figured out who killed Gonta yet?” Miu asks.

Shuichi shakes his head. “N-No, sorry.”

“Don’t apologise!” Kaede reassures him. “We just haven’t started asking the right questions yet!”

“Or started blaming the right people!” Kokichi bounces up in excitement.

“What are you on about?” Maki frowns. 

“Well, someone here is guilty!” Kokichi announces. “If the killer doesn’t want to confess, we’ll just have to make them! We’ll back them into a corner with no means of escape!”

“We can’t just accuse people at random,” Kaede sighs.

“Sure we can!” Kokichi gleefully says. “Right, Tojo?”

“I see,” Kirumi says, “I can't say I wasn't expecting this."

“You were?” Kokichi asks. “Well, are you the killer?”

“Of course not,” Kirumi frowns. “I fully intend on defending myself too. I won’t hold back.”

“Now that I think about it,” Kiyo admits, “there is a lot of evidence that goes against Tojo. Very well, let us continue with the trial.”

Rantaro looks over at Kirumi. Is she the killer? Despite being pushed to the center of the room, the maid looks calm, albeit determined. Her hands are held in front of each other, though her knuckles seem tense. Rantaro wants to believe that someone who has done nothing but help the group wouldn’t kill someone. He also has her motive video. She really has no motive to kill Gonta. Rantaro opens his mouth to bring this up but is cut off.

“You and Gonta stayed behind the clean up the bugs, correct?” Kokichi questions, clearly having too much fun tormenting the maid. 

“That is correct,” Kirumi confirms. “The party lasted at least two hours and finished at roughly midnight, meaning the party started at ten in the evening. The two of us cleaned together. I briefly left to grab my cleaning equipment and helped Gonta clean up all the dead bugs and sort out all of his boxes.”

“Did Gonta leave during the cleaning?” Ryoma asks.

“No,” Kirumi shakes her head. “In fact, he stayed in the room the entire time since he said some of the bugs were distressed. If I remember correctly, he spent all of his time talking with his bugs. I don’t think he helped clean up once.”

“That isn’t very gentlemanly,” Himiko comments. 

“I did not mind,” Kirumi calmly states. “I rather enjoy cleaning.”

“What time did you finish?” Maki questions.

“At around one in the morning,” Kirumi answers, “I offered to walk back to the dormitories with Gokuhara but he said that he needed to finish putting all his bugs to bed.”

“And, did you go straight back to the dormitories?” Kiyo tilts his head to the side, hand on his face.

“I put my cleaning equipment away first before heading to my bedroom,” Kirumi reveals. 

“So you left Gonta on his own?” Tsumugi blinks. 

“I did not think that something this tragic would’ve happened,” Kirumi admits. “If I had known…”

“Don’t worry,” Rantaro finds himself saying, “if you’re innocent, we’ll find out soon enough.”

Kirumi doesn’t respond to him. “My biggest problem is that there may be a lack of evidence to say someone else saw Gokuhara after myself.”

That’s right. People knew that Kirumi stayed behind to help Gonta clean up. The chance of the killer admitting that they were also in the academy early in the morning would be extremely low. Rantaro understands now why Kirumi is so nervous. She’s the last person to see Gonta alive. 

“Uh oh!” Kokichi smirks. “Things really aren’t looking too good for you!”

“Is it true? Did Kirumi really kill Gonta?” Angie asks.

“I did not,” Kirumi answers firmly. “And I’ll deny all accusations until I am found innocent!”

_Nonstop debate_

“You were the last person to see Gonta,” Ryoma says, pulling on his hat.

“We do not know that for certain,” Kirumi reminds him. 

“Well no one else has admitted to seeing him after you,” Himiko yawns. “Unless everyone is lying…”

“Nuh uh! No lying is allowed in this courtroom!” Kokichi announces.

“What if she’s lying about what time she came back?” Kiyo suggests. 

“Kirumi also wakes up early to clean the academy!” Angie cheers. “What if she never returned to the dormitories!”

_Counter!_

“Actually,” Rantaro shakes his head. “There’s someone here who did see her return to the dormitories.”

“Someone did?” Kaede raises an eyebrow. “Why haven’t they said anything?”

“Oh!” Kirumi’s cheeks go pink. “I have only realised what you are talking about, Amami. To think that you’re using my own testimony to help me. I should’ve realised earlier…”

“You really should have!” Kokichi snorts. 

“What the fuck are you laughing about?” Miu demands.

“It was Ouma who saw Tojo,” Rantaro explains. “After Tojo finished cleaning up, she returned to the dormitories like she said and ran into Ouma.”

“What the hell was he doing in the dormitories?” Kaito shoots Kokichi a look.

“He had made camp outside of Amami’s bedroom,” Kirumi explains.

“That’s a little...strange,” Tsumugi comments.

Kokichi pouts. “Well someone had to protect my beloved Amami!”

“Beloved?” Rantaro raises an eyebrow.

“So, can you give Tojo an alibi?” Kaede looks hopeful.

“Hmm, maybe,” Kokichi says. “But who's to say that she didn’t kill him before she left?”

Ryoma sighs heavily. “Well, Tojo. You had a long time alone with Gonta.”

“A long time alone you say?” Miu cackles. “Well, maybe they were making a mess instead of-”

“I assure you I had been cleaning the entire time,” Kirumi says.

Rantaro bites his lip. He needs to do something. If Kirumi is innocent he needs to help her. If everyone decides that she’s the killer now, they’ll all be doomed. There must be something that he’s seen that will prove Kirumi’s innocence!

_Hangman’s Gambit_

_**Is there evidence that Kirumi is telling the truth?** _

Rantaro pauses, his brain scrambling all his thoughts together, crunching down words over and over until he feels like there’s letters flying around his brain, bouncing off the walls yet hidden away. 

He feels like his blind, reaching out to the letters yet he can’t see them.

Think. Think!

He squeezes his eyes shut. Kirumi said that she cleaned with Gonta after the party as Gonta’s lab had been in a state due to all the bugs that had been let loose. Would Kirumi have a reason to lie? Unless she’s the killer, no.

**L**

Rantaro can’t doubt himself. When he feels unsure, it’s like the letters disappear. He can’t think if he’s uncertain of himself! He looks over at Kirumi. Her shoulders are hunched as she too looks like she’s deep in thought. Rantaro scrunches his eyes shut. He can only help her based on the investigation. Now, is there anything at all that he can remember to help her?

**A**

He feels like he’s almost there, like he just needs to think for one more second. He investigated around the school a lot. Gonta’s body, the hallway with the blood trail, Kirumi’s lab, Ryoma’s shower room...Gonta’s lab. Rantaro pauses when the light grows brighter. That’s it! He had been the only person who had investigated Gonta’s lab! Kaito had been too scared to and Angie and Tsumugi refused to go inside due to the bugs that were loose. When Rantaro had looked around, the only thing that looked out of place was the knocked over box. Other than that, the lab had been spotless.

**B**

“I’ve got it!” Rantaro says loudly, startling the entire room. 

“Huh, what did you get?” Kaito looks baffled.

“Are you okay, Amami? You zoned out for a second,” Tsumugi tilts her head to the side.

Rantaro nods. “Sorry, I was just thinking. I have proof that Tojo really was cleaning with Gonta!”

“You do?” Kirumi repeats him with wide eyes.

“Yes,” Rantaro reassures her. “When I was investigating, I was the only person to go into Gonta’s lab. When I was there, I saw that the room had been cleaned. The only thing out of place was that there was a knocked over box.”

“A knocked over box?” Ryoma asks.

“Yeah,” Rantaro says. “Now, if I’m correct, Tojo would’ve cleaned up that box if she knew it had been knocked over. My guess is that Tojo helped Gonta clean up his lab like she said she did. Tojo left before Gonta did since he wanted to stay and comfort his bugs. She put away her cleaning equipment and then left the academy and went to the dormitories. There, she met encountered Ouma. More importantly, Ouma?”

“Yeees?” Kokichi grins. 

“Did Tojo leave her room throughout the night?”

“Hmm,” Kokichi rubs his chin. “Now that is a good question! If I say no, then she’s innocent! If I say yes, then she would look even more suspicious!”

Rantaro sighs heavily. “Ouma.”

“Amami.”

“Ouma, just answer his question,” Ryoma frowns.

“Yeah, quit screwing around,” Kaito shakes his head. “Is Tojo innocent or not?”

“Why is everyone ganging up on me, Kokichi starts to sniffle. “All I’m trying to do is find the culprit!”

“Ouma!” Kaede snaps.

“Ah! Now Akamatsu is angry at me! Okay, okay! I’ll answer before she kills me!” Kokichi sweats. Kaede glares at him. “Well, I guess it’s Tojo’s lucky day! I didn’t see her leave her room at all!”

“So Kirumi is innocent?” Angie beams. “Hurray! Angie knew she could trust you! Congratulations!”

“So Tojo isn’t the killer?” Kaito looks pleased.

“Of course a girl wouldn’t kill someone!” Tenko says.

“Well, I guess you’re in the clear,” Rantaro tells Kirumi. A small smile stretches on her face.

“Thank yo-”

“I’ll use my magic to look for the truth!”

“Yumeno?” Rantaro jumps. “Is there something wrong?”

Himiko pulls on her hat. “You’ve all forgotten something. You’ll be sorry for making me use my mana to cast my Make You All Remember Some Really Important Evidence spell.”

“Is that actually a spell?” Rantaro asks himself.

_Rebuttal Showdown ___

____

__

“You’re all saying Tojo is innocent…” 

“But during investigating…”

“Wasn’t there something bad found in Tojo’s own lab…”

“So for forgetting, I’ll cast my spell on you!”

Rantaro puts his hands up in alarm.

“Before you do that…”

“You didn’t mention what the evidence is…”

Himiko lazily blinks

“Oh yeah, I thought I forgot something…”

“Maybe I got the spell wrong…”

“You all forgot about the bloody cleaning equipment…”

“Wouldn’t a maid clean up a mess and her equipment...”

_Counter!_

“Whilst you do bring up a good point,” Rantaro starts to sweat under Tenko’s intense gaze, “I still think Tojo is innocent.”

“Nyeh, really?” Himiko doesn’t look too surprised. “Then did I use my mana for nothing?”

“Of course you didn’t!” Tenko instantly reassures her. “Ignore any degenerate that talks to you! They clearly don’t know what they’re on about!”

“If I may,” Kirumi interrupts. “Chabashira, I know you want to protect Yumeno but I reassure you, I had no idea about the bloody cleaning equipment until I found it during the investigation.”

Tenko hesitates. “Hmm…”

“What Amami is trying to say is,” Shuichi speaks up. He ducks under his hat nervously when everyone turns to him, “is, that, um, there was probably only one way the cleaning equipment got bloody…”

“Did the killer try to mop up Gonta’s body?” Kokichi asks, snickering when Kirumi lets out a tired sigh.

“The killer tried to clean up after themselves,” Maki says. “There’s a smeared bloody trail at the bottom of the steps. Whoever tried to clean up after themselves really did a poor job of it.”

“If the killer did a poor job of it,” Kiyo says, “then is it really fair to say Tojo is the killer?”

“Kirumi never makes a mess!” Angie says happily, “Atua doubts she would leave such an obvious clue behind!”

“Tojo doesn’t seem like the type to leave such a bad mess behind,” Ryoma agrees gruffly.

Himiko looks disappointed. “So I brought all that up for nothing?”

“No, you did a good job!” Rantaro quickly comforts her. “In fact, you just proved Tojo’s innocence!”

“Good job, Yumeno!” Tenko starts to celebrate. “I knew you could do it!”

“So it’s safe to say Tojo isn’t the culprit,” Kaede smiles at Kirumi. “Sorry that you were put under all that pressure.”

“It’s no problem,” Kirumi sounds relieved. “I am pleased that I am no longer suspicious.”

“But, if Tojo isn’t the killer?” Kiyo asks. “Who is?”

“Oh, oh!” Kokichi sticks his hand up in the air. “We’ll just move onto the next suspicious person!”

“Ouma, that didn’t work last time,” Rantaro reminds him.

“But I was going to say you’re the next suspicious person!” Kokichi announces. “Well, did you kill Gonta?”

“Of course I didn’t!” Rantaro crosses his arms. “You should know I didn’t. You were outside of my room all night. I never left it once.”

Kokichi starts to giggle whilst Kaito pounds his fists together. “Stop accusing everyone in this room! What if we started accusing you?”

“A-Accuse m-me?” Kokichi’s bottom lip trembles. “B-But I d-didn’t kill G-Gonta!”

“Um,” Shuichi hesitantly raises his voice. “There’s actually something I’d like to discuss.”

“Of course! The floor is all yours!” Kaede says.

Shuichi pulls on his hat. “T-There’s something I’d like to discuss about the blood trail.”

“Oh, do you think Tojo still killed Gonta?” Tsumugi questions. “I thought we cleared her name?”

“N-No, this isn’t about Tojo,” Shuichi quickly corrects her, shooting an apologetic look over to Kirumi. “I just find something strange about it.”

“Like what?” Ryoma asks.

“Why the killer never cleaned up after themselves properly,” Shuichi says. “They had plenty of time to clean up after themselves but instead they left a rather big mess.”

“The trail goes on for quite a bit,” Maki recalls. “I don’t see why the killer decided to try and clean it and then do such a poor job.”

Rantaro agrees with Maki. Why would the killer try to clean up and then do such a shoddy job of it? 

“I have a theory,” Shuichi admits. “That might help us figure out what time the murder took place…”

“Really?” Angie’s eyes brighten. “That would be splendid!”

“Good job!” Kaito looks proud. “Well, go on then!”

Shuichi cleared his throat. “Whilst blood is difficult to clean up, I’m pretty sure the killer would’ve had enough time to clean up after themselves. The blood also stops around outside the bathroom doors, but that doesn’t have much relevance to this case. I think that perhaps the killer couldn’t see where they were cleaning.”

“The killer couldn’t see?” Ryoma pauses. “Why? I don’t think there’s anyone here who is blind.”

Rantaro catches Kirumi sending him a look. He thinks for a moment.

“I’m not suggesting someone is blind,” Shuichi explains, “I’m suggesting that it was too dark to see.”

Kirumi starts to shake her head. Rantaro feels his shoulders sag a little. Okay, so their secret theory had instantly been debunked.

“So, you’re suggesting that the killer killed Gonta during the early hours of the morning?” Himiko pauses. “I’m too lazy to wake up that early.”

“How are you so certain that it was done so early?” Kiyo asks.

“There’s not really much other choice,” Kaede supplies. “If Tojo last saw him at one in the morning, then he could’ve only been killed after that time.”

“The body was also found early too,” Tenko says, “but when it was light out!”

“Who was it that found the body first?” Shuichi asks.

“That would be Harukawa,” Kirumi says, “I’m uncertain at what time she did find the body but from her reaction, she only found it just before I did. As soon as I saw it, I ran to get someone else to set off the alarm.”

“Then how do we not know it was Harukawa that killed Gonta?” Kokichi questions, hands behind his head. “Maybe she killed him really early and then bam! Quickly moved the body to the entrance before anyone could suspect a thing!”

Maki’s red eyes lock onto Kokichi’s. “What are you suggesting?”

“Duh, weren’t you listening? I’m saying that you killed Gonta!” Kokichi smirks as Maki glares fiercely.


	8. Chapter 8

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you all enjoy this chapter! Hopefully the next chapter should be out during this week!
> 
> Thanks for the kudos and comments! :)

“Makiroll can’t be the killer!” Kaito splutters. 

“Oh, and why are you so certain?” Kokichi asks with a playful grin.

“Because,” Kaito looks around uncertainly. “She wouldn’t kill anyone! Besides, she’s really small! How the hell would she had killed Gonta?”

“I’m sure she could’ve found a way,” Kokichi responds easily, brushing Kaito's words to the side. “Come on, Harukawa. We’re waiting.”

Rantaro averts his eyes over to Maki. Despite everything, she looks completely unfazed. The only emotion she’s really showing is annoyance towards Kokichi. But still, it's only fair that they question anyone who is considered guilty.

“You’re wasting your time,” Maki says, “I didn’t kill him.”

“That’s not really convincing,” Kiyo states.

“You’re going to have to come up with something better than that,” Ryoma agrees. 

Maki rolls her eyes. “I've only been in my lab the last couple of days.”

“All the time? That’s impressive,” Angie says with wide eyes.

“Do you mean that you stayed there even during the night?” Tsumugi asks.

Maki goes quiet. “No.”

“That’s such an obvious lie!” Kokichi says, his grin growing wider. 

“She’s lying?” Kaede looks concerned, her head whipping back and forth to take a look at Maki and then at Kokichi. 

“Lying will only make you look more suspicious,” Kiyo reminds her. 

“I only found Gonta,” Maki decides to say, “I didn’t kill him. Fine, I was in my lab all night but I never left it once.”

“Is there any proof that you didn’t leave?” Kirumi asks. Her expression holds a look of sympathy. She had been questioned herself only moments before. 

Maki curls her hands up in front of her. “No…”

“See! Isn’t telling the truth so much better!” Kokichi says. “But oh no! It seems like Harukawa is in trouble! You definitely look guilty now!”

“She just doesn’t have an alibi right now,” Rantaro says. “That doesn’t mean she’s guilty.”

“I highly doubt that she’s going to pull out an alibi out of nowhere,” Kokichi says, “and did you forget I was in the dormitories all night? I know a lot of people who went into their rooms and I’d know if someone left them.”

Kaito lifts a fist up. “Actually, you’d only know who went into their rooms from the bug party. That would be me, Amami, Kaede, Saihara, Iruma and Shirogane. Oh yeah, and Tojo too!”

“So is it fair to say that all of them are definitely innocent?” Kiyo questions.

“Hooray! You’re all not guilty! You can all leave now!” Angie instruct them.

“No they can’t,” Ryoma sighs. “Everyone has to participate in the class trials.”

“We’re getting off topic,” Kokichi clears his throat dramatically. “We’re discussing whether Harukawa is the killer or not!”

“Actually,” Kaede crosses her arms. “Kaito made a good point. Only everyone from the bug party has a good alibi for the night as long as they didn’t leave their rooms. Everyone else doesn’t.”

“So are you saying I’m guilty?” Himiko sighs. “What a pain.”

“Tenko promises she didn’t kill Gonta!”

“Angie was sleeping all night! Atua can prove that!”

Rantaro sweats. It seems everyone is starting to get nervous due to Kaede’s bold statement. However, she is right. Everyone who wasn’t at the bug party has no alibi. Is it really fair to only presume Maki could’ve been the killer? Still, Rantaro wishes that everyone would calm down. He closes his eyes and tries to block out all of the yelling. All he can do right now is focus and hopefully hear something important whilst everyone argues in a panic.

_Mass Panic Debate ___

____

____

“I’m not guilty.” “There’s no proof I’m the killer.” “That was rather bold of you to say, Akamatsu.”

“Angie knows Atua knows her innocence!” “I didn’t even want to get out of bed…” “Tenko will protect all the girls!”

“Hah! I bet you all wish you were me right now!” “Iruma now isn’t the time to brag…” “A-Akamatsu, I think you should’ve worded it differently.”

“I think you’re right, Saihara.” “Nah! This is totally fun!” “Oh dear.”

“I was in my lab the entire time…” “I’m sure we were all in our dormitories after the night time announcement went off!” “Perhaps someone else stayed in the academy too?”

_Consent!_

“I’m not sure who said it,” Rantaro rubs the back of his head. “You were all talking too loud but I think I heard something about someone else staying in the academy?”

“That would be me who said that,” Kiyo says with a nod. “I was simply offering some different suggestions. 

“Right,” Rantaro nods. “Actually, I think I have some evidence that might prove your theory correct.”

“You do?” Kaito says. “Then let’s hear it!”

“Ouma,” Rantaro turns to the smaller male, “you said that you saw someone head towards the dormitories but they left when they spotted you.”

“I did?”

Rantaro ignores him. “Are you sure you definitely don’t know who it was?”

“No,” Kokichi sighs loudly, “I was half asleep when I spotted them. I only caught a glimpse of movement from the corner of my eye. I bet it was Harukawa, though!”

“I said I didn’t leave my lab all night,” Maki firmly says.

“So does that mean that was a second person inside the academy?” Tsumugi asks.

“It seems that way,” Kaede replies. “Saihara, do you have a good idea of who this person could be?”

Shuichi shakes his head. “Sorry…”

“Don’t worry!” Kaito puts a firm hand on the detective’s shoulder. “You’ll figure it out soon! We must be getting close.”

“Ah, yeah…”

“So,” Ryoma says, “are we all in agreement that the murder took place during the early hours of the morning?”

“Unless Harukawa is the killer, then I guess so,” Kokichi says, sounding way too disappointed.

“It seems less likely now we have the mystery person,” Kirumi reminds him. 

“She still hasn’t proven herself though!” Kokichi reminds her with a smirk. “Well?”

Maki’s face goes sour as she chooses to remain silent. 

“Um,” Shuichi says, “maybe we should discuss some of the other evidence instead so we can figure out-”

“I’m waiting, Harukawa!”

Kokichi leans forwards on his podium, his hand cupping his chin. “Tojo was able to prove that she wasn’t the killer just fine. If you’re really innocent, then you should explain yourself!”

There’s a pregnant pause.

“I do suppose his does have a point,” says Kiyo. “Very well, we shall not go any further until Harukawa can give us evidence that she’s not the culprit.”

“Come on guys,” Kaito puts a hand on his hip. “She’s already told us that she was in her lab all night.”

“Doesn’t mean that she never left it,” Ryoma points out. “If she was the only person in the academy besides Gonta, she easily could’ve killed him without anyone else knowing.”

“Harukawa,” Kaede says, holding her hands together tightly, “if you’re really not the culprit then please! You need to tell us why!”

Maki looks to the side, fiddling with one of her long ponytails.

Rantaro can’t help but feel bad. He looks over the evidence again. Is there anything that suggests she isn’t the culprit? He reads down the list again. He could talk about Maki’s testimony but that only gives evidence that she was in the academy. However…

“When I was speaking with Harukawa earlier,” Rantaro says, “she did say she heard a few noises throughout the night. I also remember her saying that she didn’t want to leave her room to investigate…”

“So she has been consistent in saying that she hasn’t left her lab,” Kirumi agrees, “however, is that really enough to clear her name?”

Kokichi smiles. “Absolutely not!”

“Uh oh, Atua is starting to question Maki!” Angie puts her hands to her cheeks.

“Come on, Makiroll,” Kaito sweats, “there must be something! Anything at all!”

“Is the trial over?” Himiko asks, “did Harukawa kill Gonta?”

Maki bites the tip of her thumb, eyes concentrating on her podium. She’s definitely thinking. There’s a moment of pure silence before Maki lets out a loud sigh.

“Fine. I can’t be the killer because I know Gonta didn’t have my video,” Maki reveals.

“Huh? How do you know that?” Rantaro asks.

“Because,” Maki tucks a strand of hair behind her ear, “I stole my video from someone.”

“So you didn’t receive your own?” Tsumugi asks. Maki shakes her head. “Oh.”

“How do we not know she’s just lying again?” Ryoma questions, a candy cigarette between his fingers. 

Kaito’s eyes light up. “Because she took it from me!”

“Harukawa took your video!” Kaede looks alarmed. “Why didn’t you do anything about it?”

“Because,” Kaito grins, “I believe in her!”

Maki puffs her cheeks out.

“But,” Kirumi puts a hand on her chin, “weren’t you attacked? Is that when Harukawa took her video back?”

“Well, yeah,” Kaito rubs the back of his head. “But I’m fine now, see! No harm done!”

“Wait,” Kaede crosses her arms, “ so it was Harukawa who attacked you? Kaito! That isn't okay!"

Kaito doesn't seem to be too concerned. "It's fine. I'm fine! See! Besides, no one can truly hurt the Luminary of the Stars!"

"But...Tojo had to look after you," Kiyo points out.

"S-So?!"

Kaede's eyes suddenly widen. "Wait, the attack happened around the same time my bag went missing, right? Harukawa did you-"

Maki rolls her eyes. “Is that important right now? I’ll give it back later.”

“So you did take my bag!” Kaede retorts.

“Tenko will help you get it back later,” Tenko says, “but right now, we should concentrate on who the killer is! If Momota had Harukawa’s video, then it couldn’t have been Harukawa who killed Gonta!”

“Yeah, so you better apologise!” Kaito yells towards Kokichi. 

“Nah,” Kokichi bluntly responds. “But this really is disappointing! I was super duper sure I had the killer this time!”

“Blindly accusing people really isn’t helping,” Kirumi reminds him. “This is the third time you’ve done this now.”

“Yeah, and you were wrong every time!” Miu cackles. “Do us all a favor and occupy your mouth with something! The bigger the better!”

“Okay!”

“So if Harukawa isn’t the killer,” Himiko says, “then there definitely was a second person in the academy?”

“And we can’t pinpoint who it could’ve been either,” Rantaro says. “Unless Ouma saw someone else leave their room during the night.”

“Nuh uh, sorry,” Kokichi says.

“But,” Kaede reminds everyone, “we can take off the people from the bug party plus Ouma and Harukawa!”

"W-Wait a minute!" Tenko objects. "How can we trust that Ouma was really outside of Amami's room all night? He could be lying and tricking us all!"

"You think I'm lying?" Kokichi sniffles.

Maki scoffs. "Of course."

"Then is he lying about the mystery person?" Angie asks. "But we spent so long trying figuring out if they exist!"

"That's because they do!" Kokichi insists. "Geez! You're all so ungrateful!"

"For now," Kirumi states, "we'll have to trust him. It is true that he could be lying for his own benefit but I also did see him whilst returning from the academy. If he really is lying again, we'll figure it out."

"Wow! Thanks for the support!" Kokichi chirps.

"So if Ouma isn't lying..." Kaede glances around worriedly.

“That just leaves Chabashira, Yumeno, Yonaga, Shinguji and Hoshi as our final suspects.” Kirumi points out. “That is an easier amount of people to interrogate.”

“Well, Saihara? Any idea who could’ve done it yet?” Kaito asks, slapping a hand on the detective's shoulder.

“Um,” Shuichi hesitates, jolting due to Kaito's hand. “No…”

Rantaro takes a deep breath. They’re almost there. They have to be. Now that there’s only five more people to interrogate, they'll soon find Gonta’s killer. 

“Tenko really didn’t do it!” Tenko pleads. “And she knows that Angie and Yumeno didn’t either! Tenko knows that a girl didn’t do this!”

“I already said I was sleeping,” Himiko explains. “I was getting as much sleep as I could for my magic show.”

“Angie didn’t do it either!” Angie cries. “Atua will give you all a discount to heaven if you agree right now!”

“What sort of heaven does Atua run anyway,” Ryoma grumbles. 

“A very strange one,” Kiyo says. 

Rantaro looks at the last five suspects. There’s a fleeting moment of despair that fills him. He couldn’t imagine any of these people killing anyone. He bites his lip, closing his eyes. He has no choice, he has to find out who the killer is. For Gonta and for everyone else!

“Let’s discuss the evidence some more,” Rantaro says. “Maybe that way, we can figure out who the killer is once and for all.”

“Okay then,” Tenko agrees. “But Tenko has already said that it wasn’t her!”

“It wasn’t me either,” Kiyo says. “Repeating yourself makes you look more guilty.”

“Shut up, degenerate! It had to be either you or Hoshi!” Tenko argues.

Ryoma pulls on his hat. “And why is that?”

“Tenko believes in all the girls! It's clear it wasn’t Angie or Yumeno!”

“Chabashira,” Kaede softly says. “Right now, we need to discuss all possibilities. If you or any of the others are innocent, we’ll find out, okay? So for now, please cooperate.”

“Ah!” Tenko flushes. “Tenko apologies for her behaviour!”

“It’s fine,” Kaede reassures her. “We’re just so close to finding out who the killer is.”

“Maybe we should discuss the state of Gonta’s lab,” Kirumi starts. “I knew I left it spotless after I finished cleaning. The box must’ve been knocked over during the early morning.”

“Um!” Angie sticks her hand up in the air. “Angie has something really important to say! Gonta totally loved his bugs right? So it would totes make no sense that he would leave the box on the floor right? Oh, oh! Also, Gonta’s lab had some bugs loose in it! Tsumugi was too scared to go inside!”

“So were you!” Tsumugi pales. 

“But Angie is confused why the bugs were loose in the first place! Didn’t Gonta put away all his bugs?”

“That is a good point,” Rantaro nods his head, “after the bug party, he did put all of his bugs away quite easily.”

“I can confirm whilst cleaning Gonta left all of his bugs inside of their cages,” Kirumi says. 

“So why was there a box on the floor?” Himiko asks.

“I don’t know, why don’t you tell us?” Kokichi puts a finger to his lips.

“M-Me?” Himiko starts to shake.

“Leave her alone!” Tenko roars.

Rantaro closes his eyes. If he concentrates enough then maybe he’ll be able to figure out why the box was left on the floor. He starts to ignore the rest of the room, everyone’s voices starting to wash away and sound more distant as he imagines himself fading from the room. When he opens his eyes again, he’s no longer in the trial room. He spots an open road in front of him and colourful glowing blocks. He blinks when he spots himself inside a car. He pouts. He doesn’t really like cars.

_Psyche Taxi start!_

He holds onto the steering wheel as he presses down the pedal, the hot pink car springing to life. It surges forward quickly and Rantaro spins the steering wheel frantically, controlling the car so that it slams into every one of the floating blocks. He feels relief when the car flies through them instead of slamming into them. As he hits more blocks, a question starts to form.

**Where was the box found? ******

********

********

A line of three figures form close by. Rantaro starts to panic when he realises that they’re all shouting different answers. He starts to listen to them, his ears finally catching onto an answer that sounds correct. He speeds up towards the one in the middle. Upon impact, the figure hops into the back of his car, safe.

**_“Gonta’s lab”_ **

There’s less tension this time around as Rantaro drives towards the next set of blocks, hearing chimes every time his car flies through them, an explosion of sparkles trailing behind the car upon each impact. His eyes widen as more cars start to appear on the road. He decides to slow down, swiftly dodging each car on the road but managing to collect the blocks until another question finally pops into his head.

**What was inside of the box? ******

********

********

Rantaro easily answers this one. He presses his foot down firmly on the pedal, leaning forward as the car flies down the purple road towards the next figure. He’s glad when another figure appears in the back of his car.

**_“Bugs”_ **

The next question is a little more difficult to put together. Rantaro feels frustration when the blocks start to move side to side. He drives towards one and misses it completely. His driving gets more erratic due to the speed the blocks are moving and the increase in the number of cars. Rantaro lets out a loud sigh of relief when he collects the last block.

**“Why was the box knocked over?” ******

********

********

It’s a very good question. Rantaro eases his foot up from the pedal and listens to the answers that the figures are calling. Why would someone knock over a box of Gonta’s bugs? The bugs were completely fine so the killer didn’t hurt them. It only seems they just let them go. Rantaro hesitantly goes down the right lane, squeezing his eyes shut as he hits the next figure. It takes a seat in the car.

**_“To cause a distraction”_ **

“I think I’ve got it!”

“Got what, Amami?” Kaito asks with a surprised expression. 

“Why the box was on the floor,” Rantaro says. “The killer must’ve entered Gonta’s lab and knocked over the box to distract Gonta!”

“But why did they want to distract Gonta?” Kiyo muses.

“Probably to get his motive video,” Maki says. 

“But how did the killer know that Gonta had their motive video?” Kaito asks. “It’s a little strange that they’d choose to ask Gonta of all people.”

“Maybe the killer figured out Gonta had their video?” Angie suggests.

“Didn’t Ouma already say big dick didn’t really want to share his video?” Miu points out. “But, it’s still real fucking strange why Gonta would want to throw a party for the killer.”

“When you put it that way,” Tsumugi says, “that really is strange.”

Rantaro puts his finger on his chin. Initially he thought the party was just Gonta’s way of getting everyone together so he could warn everyone about someone dangerous. Now that Rantaro thinks more, maybe that isn’t the case.

From across the room, Shuichi puts his hand over his mouth, deep in thought.

“So the killer caused a distraction and took their motive video,” Tenko summarises. “But what about the hole in Hoshi’s window? Did the killer go into Hoshi’s lab?”

“Probably,” Maki says. 

“But why was the window smashed in the first place?” Kirumi questions. “I’m failing to find a reason why.”

“Oh! Tenko can maybe help!” Tenko proudly says. “Tenko and Yumeno went to investigate the swimming pool but when we got there, we could only find glass around one of the chairs! There was also a small dent on the chair! Tenko is confident that there was something on it!”

“Something was on the chair?” Tsumugi pushes her glasses up. “How did something end up on the chair?”

“Actually, if you think about it,” Kaede says, “something must’ve been thrown out of the window. Chabashira said that there was glass on the chair. That means that something must’ve been thrown from the window!”

“Well, I don’t think it was a person,” Kokichi says. “There was absolutely no blood on the window at all, right, Amami?”

“That’s right,” Rantaro agrees. “The hole wasn’t that big either, so it must’ve been something small.”

“I know a few small things around here,” Miu grins.

Rantaro closes his eyes once again and reaches through the fog. 

_Hangman’s Gambit_

Once again, letters begin to swirl around in his mind. This time there’s plenty more letters that all bounce around into each other. It’s more difficult to actually reach them and to see them for long enough. Every time he tries to see the letters, they float away or there’s not enough light to spot them. Despite the circumstances, Rantaro continues to try.

**M**

**O**

**T**

**I**

**V**

**E**

He feels as if he’s almost there..

**V**

**I**

**D**

**E**

**O**

“I think,” Rantaro says slowly. “That perhaps it was the motive video.”

“Ooh, how did you come up with that?” Angie asks.

“Well,” Rantaro explains, “something small was clearly thrown through the window. Either Gonta or the culprit must’ve thrown the video through the window and it landed on the chair. Since it had a soft landing, it didn’t break. I don’t think the culprit would’ve bothered to go down and collected the object otherwise. It must’ve been the video.”

“Well, who threw the video?” Miu asks. 

“It was probably the culprit!” Tenko says. 

“But why would the culprit throw the video through the window?” Kirumi doesn’t look too convinced.

“Maybe they didn’t like what was on it?” Tsumugi suggests.

“Throwing it out of the window is a little extreme,” Kaede says. 

“But maybe they were super pissed about what they saw?” Miu straightens up, hands on her hips.

“There could’ve been a chance the video broke when they threw it,” Maki points out, “why would they risk breaking their own video?”

“So you’re saying Gonta wanted to kill the culprit?” Himiko asks.

Monokuma puts his hands to his mouth, his shoulders bouncing up and down as he starts to laugh. “It seems that there’s a split opinion!”

“And?” Kaito raises an eyebrow.

“And?” Monokuma mocks. “It means I get to show off my new latest feature! The Ultimate Academy is proud to present its very own morphenomenal trial grounds!”

“What does that mean?” Himiko asks.

“Ooh!” Kokichi bounces up and down. “Do we get to watch the trial grounds morph? This is going to be so fun!”

Monokuma laughs as he pulls out his hammer and slams it down on a red button. The students yelp as their podiums start to shake before one by one, they all start to hover up in the air. Rantaro’s legs wobble as he holds onto the podium, eyes widening in surprise as the podiums start to move into two different lines. Rantaro’s podium starts off the line and he finds that he’s at the front. Opposite him is Tsumugi, who looks at him with a surprised face. Her glasses are slightly askew and she fixes them onto her face properly. 

Rantaro hears the sound of music starting up, the intensity rising as it continues. It makes him feel more determined as he’s up in the air. He straightens himself up, crossing his arms as he faces his opponents.

_Split Opinion!_

**Who threw the tablet through the window?**

“The culprit probably threw their tablet through the window,” Himiko says.

“Momota!”

“Why would the culprit risk their own video being damaged?”

“The video landed in a chair, right? No harm was done,” Ryoma responds.

“Tojo!”

“Even though the video didn’t get damaged, the culprit could’ve been harmed if it hadn’t.”

“But it’d make no sense for Gonta to throw it! He wanted to be a gentleman!” Angie explains.

“Harukawa!” 

“Gentleman or not, Gonta could have thrown it.”

“Hmph! Why would big dick want to get rid of the video anyway? Wouldn’t he have kept it?!” Miu demands.

“Akamatsu!”

“Maybe he wanted to keep it! Perhaps the killer gave him no choice!”

“Gonta had no reason to throw the video! Gonta would’ve never wanted to hurt someone!” Tsumugi holds her hands to her chest.

“I’ll answer this! I agree that Gonta would’ve never wanted to hurt someone but there had to be a reason why he threw it!” Rantaro finishes.

The two sides bicker back and forth, loudly proclaiming their answers. Rantaro soon realises that their side is starting to win when their voices get louder and louder. It isn’t long before the other side is completely drowned out. When the other side stops, Rantaro’s side all yell.

“This is our answer!”

The podiums all start to sink towards the floor once again and there’s instant relief when the podiums all land. Rantaro sighs in satisfaction when he no longer has no hold onto the podium for support.

“There has to be a reason why Gonta threw the tablet,” Rantaro says, folding his arms. “There’s a higher chance that Gonta threw the tablet rather than the culprit. The culprit would’ve had too much to lose throwing the tablet. If the video had something on it that they didn’t want the rest of us to find out, they would’ve kept the video on them rather than throw it through a window.”

“I guess that makes sense,” Tsumugi sighs.

“It totally does!” Kokichi agrees. “Gonta probably saw the culprit and panicked and woosh! Out of the window it goes!”

“I wonder if the culprit knew if the video went through the window?” Kaede asks.

“Probably,” Maki says. “If the culprit was in the academy, they would’ve heard the smashing sound. I know I did.”

“And you didn’t investigate?” Kiyo asks. 

“I didn’t want to.”

“That doesn’t matter,” Kaito quickly says. “We need to figure out why Gonta threw the video! Well, Saihara! Do you have any ideas?”

Either Shuichi isn’t listening or is deep in his thoughts. The detective still has his hand over his mouth and is staring down at his podium, unresponsive.

“Uh, Saihara?” Kaito lightly taps Shuichi’s shoulder.

The detective jolts. “Ah! M-Momota! What’s wrong?”

“What’s up with you?” Kaito asks. “You’ve been quiet for a while now.”

“I-It’s nothing,” the detective quickly says. “What did you ask before?”

Kaede raises a concerned eyebrow but repeats the question. “We’re trying to figure out why Gonta threw the video.”

“Um,” Shuichi starts to think. “Maybe he...wasn't thinking?”

“What sort of shitty answer is that?” Miu spits as she laughs. 

Rantaro’s eyes widen. “Actually, it’s a really good one.”

“Ooh! Maybe you should keep your opinions to yourself you filthy pig!” Kokichi calls.

“P-Pig?!”

“It would make sense,” Kaede says slowly. “Perhaps the killer snuck up on Gonta and in surprise, Gonta threw the video through the window without actually thinking?”

“Wouldn’t the killer have gone after it though?” Tsumugi asks.

“Atua says they did!” Angie says, hands above her head. “He’s also telling me to tell you Angie is too slow to quickly get the video! Gonta probably ran to get the video too since he didn’t want to culprit to see it!”

“Ah, Gonta probably would’ve tried to obtain to video too,” Kiyo agrees.

“Then in that case,” Ryoma says. “Who got it first?”

“I would’ve gotten it first because I would’ve used my magic,” Himiko says. “But I’m not the culprit so I didn’t.”

“Hmm,” Rantaro tries to think. There really is no way to determine who got the video first. However… “Perhaps if we try to figure whether the box was knocked over first then maybe we’ll be able to figure it out.”

“How would that help, though?” Kaito asks.

“The box was used as a distraction,” Rantaro explains. “We all agree about that, correct? If it was used as a distraction, perhaps Gonta got to the video first and returned to the academy to try and hide it.”

“Tenko agrees with your logic,” Tenko nods her head. “Did anyone hear the noises?”

Rantaro looks over the evidence again. 

“There is someone,” he says.

“I heard a few noises throughout the morning,” Maki reveals. “They weren’t really one after another but they were all pretty loud. The first sound I heard was more of a smashing sound.”

“The window!” Tsumugi exclaims.

“Ooh, maybe you are good for something!” Kokichi grins.

Maki scowls at him. “A little bit after that, I heard a single thumping sound. A little later, there was another thumping sound that was a series of bumps.”

“A series of bumps?” Kaede repeats.

“So the window did get smashed first!” Kaito shouts.

“Oh it got smashed alright!” Miu cackles.

“So Gonta threw the video and then returned to the academy?” Himiko says. “Then the killer followed him in and made a distraction in Gonta’s lab to distract Gonta so that they could get their video?”

“It seems so,” Ryoma nods. 

“But did the killer get their video?” Kaito asks.

Rantaro thinks. The box was knocked over and the bugs were still out. However, the lab door was also closed. There’s a high chance that the culprit managed to get the video and Gonta panicked and followed after them, closing his lab door behind him to keep his bugs safe.

“I think they did,” Rantaro says. “Gonta probably tried to follow after them after they took it. To keep his bugs safe, he closed his lab door so they couldn’t get out.”

“He really did care about his bugs,” Kirumi comments. “I must remember to check on them after the trial.”

“But then,” Tsumugi says, “what happened after that? Did the killer watch their video?”

“I’m not sure,” Kaede admits. 

“Like I said before, after the bang from Gonta’s lab, there was more banging a little later,” Maki says. “And lots of it.”

“Lots of banging you say?” Miu splutters.

“Angie wonders what caused the banging?” Angie looks around. “Is anyone going to explain it to Angie?”

“What do you think, Saihara?” Kokichi questions, leaning over his podium. “Have you figured out what’s going on yet?”

Shuichi blinks at Kokichi as in a daze. “Hmm? Sorry, I wasn’t... listening.”

“Well that’s no good!” Kokichi gasps. “We were relying on you to solve this case too! You’ve been awfully quiet for a long time!”

“Ouma, leave him alone! He’s probably thinking,” Kaito growls, his starry coat softly swishing behind him.

Kokichi grins before his face twists and a sneer appears. Rantaro shrinks away at the sight of Kokichi’s face. He didn’t even know a human face could do that.

“And what if his silence gets us all killed?” Kokichi questions, eyes turning dark. “Are you going to believe in someone who is just as bad as the killer if they won’t speak up?”

“O-Ouma,” Kaede’s hands shake. “I’m sure he isn’t-”

“I bet Saihara knows something that we don't,” Kokichi continues, “yet he isn't saying anything! Don't tell me that he's too scared of the truth?”

“Ouma, that’s enough,” Kirumi scolds him. Her eyebrows draw in closer together. “If Saihara has something important to say then he'll tell us. Right now, he could just be thinking things through. I'd rather that he's confident in his answer than us all blaming someone at random again for the sake of your entertainment."

“Or perhaps he's just too much of a coward to actually speak his mind,” Kokichi mumbles. 

“Why you...” Kaito’s fist trembles.

Kokichi holds his expression for a couple more seconds before it melts away into a smile. “Oh well! If Saihara wants us to die then I guess we’re all going to die!”

“T-That’s not!” Shuichi shakes his head. “I'm just!”

“Saihara, calm down,” Maki frowns. “Getting nervous now won’t help anyone.”

“That’s right,” Kaede agrees. “Just take deep breaths and keep thinking. When you’re ready, you can tell us what you need to, okay?”

Rantaro fumbles with the sleeve of his shirt. They’re so close to figuring out who the killer is. He’s slowly getting a good idea what caused the last set of thumps. All he has to do now is get Shuichi to confirm it. He looks up at the detective, who is hiding under his hat, body trembling and hands holding on tightly to the brim of the cap.

If Shuichi doesn’t want to talk, that’s fine. However, Rantaro can’t keep guessing forever. Perhaps a lie is in order to get the detective to spill the beans?

_Nonstop Debate_

“So about that banging,” Miu says, curling hair around her finger.

“I’m not sure where it came from,” Maki admits.

“Perhaps the culprit dropped something and it fell quite a bit?” Angie suggests.

“May I suggest that the culprit perhaps dropped something down the stairs?” Kiyo says.

“It must’ve been something heavy,” Ryoma states.

“What if it was Gonta?” Tsumugi asks in alarm.

“No,” Rantaro shakes his head. “Gonta probably died due to the injury from his foot.”

“The injury from his foot?” Kaede repeats. “But-”

“Amami is totally right!” Kokichi agrees. “He stepped on something really sharp and died because it hurt sooooo much!”

“I find that hard to believe,” Kiyo frowns.

“What about the thumps?” Kaito asks. “Something big must’ve fallen to make a noise!”

“Maybe Gonta did fall down the stairs then,” Rantaro says, “but ultimately, I think that the glasses caused his death.”

"Amami, are you serious?" Kaito stumbles back incredulously. "I really don't think-" 

"You're right! You don't think!" Kokichi laughs whilst Kaito starts to yell at him. 

Rantaro sighs. "Ouma, that's enough. Anyway, it had to have been the glasses that caused Gonta's death. There's no other explanation to suggest otherwise." 

“No, that’s wrong!”

Rantaro tries not to smile when Shuichi shouts loud enough to silence the courtroom. The detective heaves in a deep breath and falters when he notices that everyone is staring at him. 

“Um…”

“Why am I wrong, Saihara?” Rantaro tries to act confused. He’s not sure if it’s working. Kokichi is currently snickering at him.

“Well, um…”

“Come on! Why is Amami wrong?” Kokichi encourages.

“...”

"Just spit it out already!" Miu yells. "I mean, I already know but you should at least get everyone else on the same page!"

"I feel like Amami was telling a rather obvious lie," Kiyo says thoughtfully. "But I'd also like to know why he's wrong. Saihara, you did sound rather confident there. If you really do know something, you should share it with the rest of us."

"Out with it!" Tenko demands. "If you end up getting us all killed, Tenko will have to use her neo-aikido on you!" 

Shuichi looks panicked at her words, his pale skin somehow turning even more paler. He sneaks a look from under his hat at everyone in the room. All eyes are on him. He swallows and ducks back under his hat.

Kaede takes a deep breath and offers the detective a smile. "Saihara, it's okay."

“H-Huh?”

“I know you're scared right now,” she continues, “and that’s completely fine. I think you've known the killer for a long time, huh? That must be pretty scary. I don't blame you for being so quiet." She fumbles with her arm. "And I know that I...betrayed you. You opened up to me during the time limit and I still went along with my plan. Saihara, I'm so sorry..."

"Akamatsu..."

"But I promise I'm still going to stay by your side! So even if you're scared right now, I'm going to help you! We all will!" Kaede pumps her fists. "So use your amazing detective skills I know you have and help us! Even if you're wrong, it'll be okay! I know that you'll end up finding the truth in the end! And if you're scared of that truth then just remember everyone will support you! Let's face the truth together!"

Shuichi blinks once, twice, before pulling his hat over his eyes and puts a hand to his face. He rubs his eyes and when he removes his hand, it’s wet. 

“F-First,” Shuichi stammers, “I think there’s something wrong with the reasoning about the party.”

“There is?” Ryoma asks.

“At first, I was trying to think why would Gonta throw a party,” Shuichi explains. “Then, when Amami explained his thoughts about the party, I thought something was a little off. Why throw a party to warn everyone about a video?”

“You do have a point,” Tsumugi agrees. 

“Usually,” Shuichi continues. “You throw a party for celebrations or...if someone is feeling down.”

“No one at the party really seemed too down,” Kaede points out in agreement. 

Shuichi nods. “Next, I don't think Gonta threw the video out of the window straight away. He'd have no reason to. The culprit must've figured out that Gonta had their video and when Gonta realised this, he panicked and then threw the video."

“Why didn’t Gonta want the culprit to see their video?” Angie asks.

“Because there was probably something on it that would upset them,” Shuichi explains. “I think Gonta threw the video out of reflex and when he realised what he had done, raced with the culprit to get to the video first. Gonta got to the video first and went back into the academy and the culprit followed after him. I think then the culprit went into Gonta's lab and knocked over one box of bugs as a distraction. When Gonta noticed this, the culprit grabbed their video and left with it. And then...”

“And then?” Himiko echoes.

“I think they watched it,” Shuichi concludes. 

“Oh dear,” Tsumugi puts her hands to her mouth.

Shuichi swallows. “I’m not sure if this is correct but I presume the culprit really didn’t like what they saw and Gonta probably tried to comfort them. Gonta probably didn’t want to see them upset. However, maybe the culprit was still annoyed and then attacked Gonta.”

“That’s a pretty shitty thing to do,” Kaito frowns. “Gonta was only trying to look out for them.”

“I think deep down, the culprit knew that too,” Shuichi says. “But at that moment, they were angry or upset. I really don’t know. They ended up lashing out and... hurting Gonta.”

“How did they do that?” Kirumi asks. 

“They threw something at Gonta, which caused the first head injury and knocked Gonta’s glasses from his face. Gonta ended up standing on them somehow and cut his foot,” Shuichi explains. “My guess is that Gonta was standing near the stairs when this happened and ended up falling. When he reached the bottom, he received an additional head injury that ended up killing him.”

“But the Monokuma File said he didn’t die straight away,” Rantaro points out.

“He didn’t,” Shuichi agrees. “He probably spoke to the killer before he died. Although, I'm not exactly sure what he said to them..."

"Perhaps," Kiyo says, "that Gonta encouraged them to have this class trial?"

"And why the fuck would Gonta do that?" Miu asks.

Kiyo closes his eyes. "Truthfully, I am not sure. However, I do know that Gonta was well loved by everyone here. I presume that the culprit also liked Gonta. I'd find it strange that they wouldn't speak up about killing him. Wouldn't someone feel a large amount of guilt for killing Gonta?"

"Perhaps," Rantaro says, "but I also highly doubt the culprit is going to willingly give themselves up. If they really didn't want this class trial, they would've said something by now. So maybe...you are correct that Gonta encouraged them."

"But Gonta should've known that we'd all die if the killer gets free!" Miu trembles. "Why would big dick try and get us all killed!?"

"M-Maybe he forgot about the rules whilst he was dying," Kaede says, "whilst he was kind, Gonta...wasn't too smart."

"Wow! I didn't know Akamatsu was so cruel! To speak so ill about the dead like that!" Kokichi looks like he's ready to burst into tears.

Kaede ignores him. "We're getting off track. We just need to figure out who caused Gonta to fall down the stairs."

“It had to be somebody tough!” Tenko explodes. “Gonta was really big and strong!”

“The culprit,” Shuichi tugs on his hat, “probably had really good aim. I think that they only threw one thing at Gonta. Although, I’m not really sure if they actually meant to kill him. I think they just wanted Gonta to leave them alone.”

“And instead, they accidentally killed him,” Kirumi finishes solemnly. 

Rantaro’s eyes shift to the side. He’s really got a good idea now who killed Gonta. He feels sick but the class trial needs to come to an end.

“Thank you, Saihara,” Rantaro says. “You’ve really helped us.”

“I would’ve gotten you all killed if I stayed quiet,” Shuichi mumbles.

“But you didn’t! You helped us find the killer!” Kaede pumps her fists.

“That’s right,” Rantaro says.

He looks up and takes a deep breath, eyes going over to the Ultimate Tennis Player, Ryoma Hoshi.


	9. Chapter 9

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for reading!!!

Shuichi tugs his hat over his eyes as Ryoma looks over at the detective silently, his expression completely unreadable. It seems that the entire room has no idea what to say. No one dares to open their mouths now. Well, except…

“Woah, it was you who killed Gonta?” Kokichi bounces up and down. “Really? Hoshi? It was you? I really didn’t see that coming at all! But, I guess it does make sense now that Saihara explained it!” He looks way too excited. “So, is he right? Did you really make Gonta fall down the stairs? Or was I right from the start? Did you get a shot put ball and-”

“Ouma!” Kaede snaps. “This really isn’t the time!”

“What?” Kokichi whines. “I was just asking!”

“I believe this isn’t the time to be messing around,” Kirumi reminds him. “Because if Saihara is correct, we’ve just found Gokuhara’s killer.”

“I can’t believe this,” Kaito looks sick. “There’s no way…”

“Yes way!” Kokichi grins. “Are you saying that you don’t believe Saihara? After encouraging throughout the entire trial, you decide that now you're going to take it all back? Isn’t that a little unfair, Momota?”

Kaito furiously shakes his head. “That’s not what I’m saying-”

“Kaito,” Kaede says, “I know that you don’t want to blame Hoshi but if all the evidence points to him then we need to figure out if he’s the killer! And right now…”

“Things aren’t really looking good for Hoshi,” Kiyo finishes, eyes closing. “Although, I too must say I’m surprised. If Hoshi really is the killer, there must be a big reason why.”

“Well?” Miu puts her hands on her hips. “Are you going to say anything?”

Ryoma pulls on his hat and sighs. “What is there for me to say?”

“Whether or not you killed Gonta!” Tenko declares. “Well, did you do it or not?”

Ryoma’s silence is infuriating. Rantaro swallows heavily. Although they’ve finally got the potential culprit backed up into a corner, they’re not saying anything. If Ryoma decides to stay silent, does that mean everyone else will die? No, Shuichi had sounded so sure that Ryoma is the killer. All they need now is some final proof to confirm it completely.

Still, Rantaro feels sick. He spares Ryoma one more look. The tennis player really isn’t showing any emotion at all, his eyes blank and mouth in a straight line. 

Perhaps this is what Shuichi felt when he had realised who the killer was. Rantaro’s tongue feels heavy in his mouth, he feels imaginary chains wrap around and around his body and heavily weigh him down. His heart is thudding wildly, beating and beating and beating until it’s all he can hear. Can he really do this? Can he really stand there and give evidence to why Ryoma is guilty? Even though he confidently spent the trial looking for the killer, now that they have someone...he can’t do it. Rantaro realises he can’t do it.

He can’t send someone to their death. He just...can’t.

“Well! If he’s not going to answer, we’re just going to have to figure it out!” 

Kokichi grins as he leans forwards on his podium, his pale hand cupping his chin. 

“So! Hoshi! You killed Gonta, right?” Kokichi asks. Unsurprisingly, he doesn’t get a response. “Right, that explains a lot. Yup! I see, I see…”

“What the hell are you doing?” Maki questions, pinching her nose. 

“I’m talking to Hoshi telepathically!” Kokichi answers, sounding way to honest despite telling such an unbelievable lie. “He’s telling me he totally did it!”

“No I’m not,” Ryoma says lowly.

Angie gasps. “He spoke!”

“Ooh! Looks like we’re getting somewhere!” Kokichi’s eyes shine. 

“Hoshi,” Kirumi firmly cuts in. “If you’re not the killer, you need to defend yourself. We will not accept silence as an answer.”

“Woah, mother is scary when she wants to be!” Kokichi shivers. 

“I am simply trying to get answers,” Kirumi responds. “After all, we’ve come this far. I will not back down, not now. For the sake of everyone, I will find out if Hoshi is the true culprit.”

“Wow, Kirumi is so cool!” Angie squishes her cheeks together. 

“Well, someone needs to take control,” Maki mutters. “It’s not like anyone else is really willing to speak up.”

“But what about-”

“You don’t count, Ouma,” Kaito bristles. “You’ve just been screwing around for the entire trial!”

Kokichi starts to sniffle but thankfully Kirumi starts talking again before he’s launched into full blown hysterics.

“If Saihara is correct,” Kirumi puts a finger up. “You were in the academy during the early hours of the morning. You approached Gonta after I had left and ended up finding out about your motive video. When Gonta realised this, he panicked and ended up in your lab before he threw the video through your lab window. I’m correct so far, yes?”

Silence.

“Then, you both ran to the pool to grab the video but Gonta ended up reaching it first. He ran back into the academy, clearly wanting to hide the video somewhere. That’s when you snuck into his lab and knocked over the box and let some of his bugs loose. Gonta ended up hearing this and went to aid his bugs and whilst he was distracted, you took the video. He left his lab to go after you but by then, you had already watched your video. I am unsure of what was on that video but I can only guess that you didn’t like it and when Gonta tried to comfort you, you ended up knocking him over somehow and Gonta ended up falling down the stairs. He spoke to you before he died, correct?”

More silence.

“How did you say all that in one go?” Himiko asks.

“Tojo must have one good set of lungs,” Tenko says. 

“That is irrelevant,” Kiyo says. “Right now, we’re waiting for Hoshi to say something.”

“Then why isn’t he saying anything?” Miu questions. “Didn’t he fucking do it?”

“It seems likely,” Kaede admits, “but until he says something we can’t be certain for sure.”

“Why can’t we vote now and get it over with?” Himiko sighs. “He’s obviously the killer. I can tell with my magic. Let’s just get it over with.”

“Whilst it’s plain to see that he is the killer,” Tsumugi looks from side to side. “Shouldn’t Hoshi tell us at least why he did it? He isn’t even trying to defend himself…”

“I agree,” Kiyo says, “it would be rather disrespectful to not even say why Gonta was killed. If Saihara is correct, Gonta was only trying to protect Hoshi. Something must’ve gone really wrong for Gonta to end up dead.”

“Maybe I’m just wrong and-” Shuichi goes silent when Kokichi shoots him one of his creepy looks.

Kokichi presses a finger to the side of his head. “Don’t go defending the guilty, now. If Hoshi really is innocent, he’s perfectly capable of defending himself.”

“Then why isn’t he saying anything?” Kaito sounds frustrated. “Come on, Hoshi! Say something! Anything!”

“K-Kaito! Calm down!” Kaede holds her hands up. “I know that you’re shocked but we need to think about this rationally and-”

“Momota is correct to be frustrated,” Kirumi says. “Perhaps Hoshi thinks he has a higher chance of getting out of this without saying anything?”

“But that doesn’t make any sense!” Kaito stresses. “None of this does!”

“Well, Hoshi has killed before...” Tenko presses two fingers together. 

Ryoma tugs on his hat and sighs.

“So is it really that hard to think he’d kill again?” Angie puts a paintbrush to her lips. “Not really! Atua says that right now is the best time to vote!”

“But is it really?” Kirumi asks. “Whilst it’s more than clear who the killer is, we can’t just sentence someone to their death without hearing what they have to say first. I personally would like to think that Hoshi isn’t saying anything for no reason. He must know that if he’s the killer and we all don’t vote for him, we’ll all end up being killed ourselves.”

“Which is why he needs to say something,” Maki says, “right now.”

“He’s probably shitting himself because he knows Saihara has him all figured out,” Miu states. “But I’ll be pissed if he ends up getting me killed! I’m God’s gift to this world! It wouldn’t function without me!”

“Are you sure about that?” Kokichi smirks.

“Guys,” Kaede claps her hands together. “We need to focus!”

“Saihara, is there perhaps anymore evidence that points towards Hoshi?” Kiyo asks. “Clearly he doesn’t want to say anything.”

“Uh, I’m not sure,” Shuichi admits. He keeps his hands on his hat. Ryoma is looking straight at him. “I-I really don’t know…”

“Then we can vote for him,” Himiko says.

“I mean,” Tsumugi says, “it’s plain to see that there is not much else we can do. Unless someone wants to confess that they’re the killer instead.”

Obviously, no one else speaks. The courtroom once again goes quiet.

“This can’t be it!” Kaito shakes his head. “Hoshi! Say something!”

“Eh, is Momota trying to help the killer?” Kokichi raises an eyebrow.

“It’s not that!” Kaito sweats. “I refuse to believe that Hoshi killed Gonta and won’t explain why! I know that Hoshi didn’t really like to hang out with everyone much but I won’t believe that he’d just let us all risk voting for the wrong person! Hoshi, you’re better than this! If you really are the killer then you need to accept it like a man!”

“What do you mean like a man?” Tenko bristles.

“Gonta had been nothing but fucking kind to all of us ever since we got here!” Kaito continues to yell. “Sure, he might’ve not been the smartest but he didn’t deserve to die so soon! All he wanted to do was to help everyone! Hell, he even stayed in the same room as Amami and he must’ve known that would’ve been dangerous! So if you’re just going to stand there and not even explain why you killed him,” Kaito falters, stumbling before holding onto his podium. “Then I regret ever having any respect for you.”

“Kaito, are you okay?” Kaede asks in alarm.

“I’m fine,” Kaito huffs, “I’m just pissed off, that’s all.”

“Ouch,” Kokichi smirks. “Momota can really be mean when he wants to be.”

“But he does speak the truth,” Kiyo says. “Gonta doesn’t deserve this. It’s bad enough that he was killed but now his own killer won’t even tell us why.”

“I guess,” Himiko slowly says, “we shouldn’t vote until we get a reason why Gonta was killed.”

“Atua says that’s only fair,” Angie agrees.

“It wasn’t that long ago you said Atua said we should vote,” Tenko points out with narrowed eyes.

Rantaro takes a deep breath. Even though he’s reluctant, he agrees with everyone else. They need to continue this trial until they know why Gonta was killed. It’s only fair. Even if they’ve figured out Gonta’s killer, that still isn’t enough. Even if Gonta isn’t here to hear the truth, it’s only right that Ryoma explains himself.

“Hoshi,” Rantaro says, “we’d really appreciate it if-”

“Aren’t you getting a little ahead of yourselves? You’ve all still got a ways to go.”

“Huh?”

Ryoma pulls his hat up away from his face, eyes narrowed and filled with...something Rantaro can’t describe. Whatever it is, it makes him feel nervous just to look at the tennis player.

“What do you mean?” Kirumi asks, tilting her head to the side. “Are you saying that you’re not the killer?”

“...yeah, something like that,” Ryoma says.

“What do you mean something like that?” Tenko asks. “You either are the killer or not! Which is it?”

“It depends,” Ryoma says slowly.

“What the hell is that supposed to mean?” Kaito splutters, his face going red. “You’ve got a lot of nerve trying to mess us around right now!”

“Is it that you’re unsure whether or not you killed Gokuhara?” Kirumi asks him. “Saihara did mention that it was dark…”

“He must’ve known he killed Gonta,” Maki says, “he moved the body, correct?”

“Who knows,” Ryoma responds, pulling out a candy cigarette from his pocket only to fiddle with it. “That’s not important right now.”

“So tell us what is!” Tsumugi cries. “If you know something that we don’t then please, tell us! All our lives are on the line right now! Do you really want to let all of us die?”

“We’re all gonna die!?” Miu trembles.

“No,” Kaede firmly says, shaking her head. “I refuse to let all of us die!”

“So you’re happy enough to send one more person to their death,” Ryoma says, “just so everyone else can live?”

“The killer,” Tenko points out, “is someone in this room! Everyone here knows the rules! If you kill someone and get away with it, you get to leave but everyone else dies! Tenko feels that a group of innocent people living is much better than just one person who gets to live even after they’ve killed someone! The moment the killer killed someone, they must've realised that if they win the trial, they would have to live with knowing they got so many innocent people killed too!”

“Which is why we need to find the culprit,” Kaede says. “I don’t want to let anyone else die! I hate this stupid killing game! However, one of us here is the culprit and...it’s our job to find them. I won’t let them get everyone here killed!”

“Man, Hoshi must’ve had something really interesting on his video to make him think that he deserves to leave right now!” Kokichi observes loudly. “Like, seriously! Are you like the Prime Minister or something? I mean, if you are I guess we’d all just let you leave right now, I guess!”

Rantaro breathes in funny and chokes. Tsumugi rubs his back soothingly.

“Are you okay, Amami?”

“Sorry, I just, breathed in funny.”

“No, I’m not the Prime Minister,” Ryoma frowns. “No one here is. Stop messing around.”

“Okay! But,” Kokichi bounces on his heels. “You must’ve seen something really important to make you want to leave!”

Ryoma pauses for a moment before sighing deeply and shaking his head. “You’re full of crap, kid.”

“Angie is so confused,” Angie says. “So is like, Ryoma the killer or not? Atua says he is but we’re not doing anything about it! And, and, Ryoma isn’t really saying why he killed Gonta. That’s what we all wanted to know, right?”

“That’s right,” Kaede agrees. “Right now, Hoshi isn’t answering any of our questions properly! He just keeps evading them!”

“Does Hoshi not care that Gonta is dead?” Tsumugi ponders. “Because we’ve already established how much a gentleman he was. I’d find it strange that he’d kill him just because he had his video.”

“He didn’t kill him because he had his video,” Maki reminds her. “Hoshi killed Gonta because of what was on the video. That has to be it.”

“And? How are you so sure?” Ryoma asks. “Even if I did kill Gonta, how would you know that what was on it was enough to make someone want to murder?”

“We...don’t,” Himiko says. 

“The video wasn’t found!” Tenko adds. “Which means we don’t have proof but...what other explanation could there be?”

“Hey, hey, Hoshi! What was on your video?” Kokichi asks. “Was it something exciting? Was it? Was it?”

“I don’t know, kid. You tell me. Weren’t you the one who watched everyone’s videos?” Ryoma pointed out.

“Huh? But I didn’t watch yours!” Kokichi declares.

“Wait a minute!” Kaede voice carries across the room. “I know we all can’t just say who had whose videos but...did anyone in this room get Hoshi’s video?”

“Akamatsu? What sort of question is that?” Ryoma asks. “Of course no one is going to say they got my video. Everyone thinks I’m the killer.”

But as he says this, everyone shrinks in on themselves. It’s clear that no one wants to say anything. It’s clear that the one who received Ryoma’s video was Gonta.

“I’m also sure someone would’ve said something by now,” Kirumi states. “No one wants this, Hoshi. None of us want you to die.”

Ryoma goes still for a moment. Then, he snorts. “Is that so?”

“Of course!” Tsumugi urges. 

“So, say if I did kill Gonta,” Ryoma says, “you’d still want me alive?”

“I don’t want to let anyone else die,” Kaede says. “And that includes you!”

“That doesn’t answer my question,” Ryoma frowns. “Don’t you think that it’s only fair that the killer gets punished? You’ve all gone on about how well loved Gonta was. Face it, you’d swap him back in a heartbeat.”

“With who?” Maki asks. “The killer?”

“Well duh!” Miu rolls her eyes. “What sort of stupid fucking question is that? I didn’t spend much time with big dick but even I knew he was real fucking good.”

“But we can’t get him back,” Kaito clenches his fist. “And the only way to avenge him now is to find his killer!”

“Hoshi isn’t saying anything though,” Himiko says. 

“Then we’re just going to have to continue the trial whether he likes it or not,” Maki says. “I don’t plan on dying here.”

Rantaro looks down at the list of evidence. They’ve practically exhausted everything now. They all know that Hoshi is hiding something. They all know that there’s a high chance that he’s the killer and just doesn’t want to admit it. Rantaro bites down on a fingernail. Is this what Gonta would’ve wanted? He’s sure that Gonta would’ve wanted everyone to believe in each other.

However, there’s one question that bugs him.

Did Gonta really want his killer to be found?

There’s no denying it, Gonta wasn’t really smart. Gonta also saw what was on Hoshi’s video. The video was enough to make Gonta concerned about Ryoma. When Gonta fell, he didn’t die instantaneously yet...there was no signs of a struggle. Gonta must’ve spent his last moments alive doing something meaningful. Again, Gonta wasn’t really smart. Gonta saw Ryoma’s video. Gonta was concerned about Ryoma. Gonta did not struggle when he fell.

Had Gonta accepted that he was going to die?

There’s also Ryoma. Why isn’t saying much? He seems too relaxed. Is it that he’s killed before and therefore knows how to not act shifty? However, there’s a consistent hidden meaning behind a lot of things that Ryoma keeps saying.

Ryoma doesn’t seem to think anyone wants him alive here anymore. But...is that really true?

The tennis player has mentioned that everyone would prefer it if Gonta was here right now instead but that’s not true. Rantaro would rather have everyone here. Kiibo and Gonta. 

And Ryoma.

But...is it too late?

“Well, times ticking,” Monokuma says impatiently.

“We’re still discussing!” Kaito shouts at him.

“And I’m running out of time!” Monokuma retorts. “Either you pick a killer soon or you’re all getting killed!”

“All of us?!” Tsumugi’s eyes widen. “No! Please! Give us more time!”

“You can’t do that!” Kaede yells. 

“Poor Akamatsu,” Monokuma smirks. “You’ll find that I can. You’re all being way too boring right now! No one is talking and it’s pretty clear you all agree who the killer is!”

“But, we need to know why he killed Gonta!” Tenko explains. “We can’t just let Gonta’s death be for nothing!”

“Yeah! Gonta was the best!” Angie cheers. “Atua says he’ll totes going to heaven!”

“I r-really liked Gonta!” Kokichi sniffles. “I want to know why he was killed too!”

“That’s probably bullshit,” Kaito huffs, “but it’d be shitty of us to not figure out why Gonta died!”

“That’s right!” Miu agrees. “We all want to avenge big dick!”

“So screw your time limit,” Kaede says firmly. “We won’t stop until we get a real reason why Gonta died!”

Monokuma’s body goes still before he startles the students with a loud laugh.

“Puhuhuhu. Puhuhuhuhuhuhuhu!”

“There he goes again,” Kaito murmurs. 

“We must be quick,” Kirumi says. “I doubt Monokuma is going to give us anymore time to discuss-”

“I don’t care if he doesn’t give us more time,” Kaede says. “He will! I refuse to let the voting start until we have answers!”

“But Akamatsu,” Shuichi squeaks, “Monokuma can do what he wants. Wouldn’t it be dangerous to disobey him?”

“Who the hell cares about that?” Kaito retorts. “I don’t care if this trial takes us one hour or one year. We’re going to find out why Gonta was killed!”

“Yeah, so you better start talking,” Tenko shouts. 

Ryoma looks down and breaks his candy cigarette. “Hmph.”

“Hoshi!” both of Kirumi’s hands are clenched tightly in front of her. “Please. We just need to know-”

“How are you all so sure I’m the killer?”

“Huh?” Rantaro’s eyes widen. Why is Ryoma still fighting?

“You said the party was thrown for someone sad?” Ryoma says. “Everyone here is sad. We’re all trapped in a game no one wants to participate in. Why am I the one who is being singled out for being the most upset?”

“Well, you have been rather down these last couple of days,” Rantaro points out quietly. “Perhaps Gonta noticed and-”

“You’re also saying that someone with good aim killed Gonta,” Ryoma continues. “I haven’t played tennis in years. I doubt my aim is good. On the other hand, Chabashira is rather athletic. Why aren’t we questioning her?”

“Why you,” Tenko’s face turns red. “Tenko didn’t kill Gonta! Stop trying to shift the blame now that everyone thinks you’re guilty! This is about you, not Tenko!”

“I’m just saying,” Ryoma points out. He hesitates before sighing. “I don’t even have my own motive video. I never even watched it.”

“You...didn’t?” Kaede pauses. “But...I’m sure Gonta had your video.”

“He did!” Kokichi insists. “Liars like me are pros at spotting lies!”

“I didn’t lie,” Ryoma frowns. “I never watched it. You must be delusional.”

Kokichi splutters before the largest grin Rantaro has ever seen splits on the smaller male’s face. “Oh really?”

Rantaro squeezes his eyes shut. He really doesn’t want to do this. He’s absolutely dreading what’s about to come next. His stomach churns as he swallows and opens his eyes reluctantly.

If he’s correct, no one knows where Gonta’s motive video is. Well, Ryoma’s motive video. It wasn’t in Gonta’s bedroom and it wasn’t on Gonta when Shuichi had checked the body. There were no videos lying around the academy when Rantaro investigated.

“Hoshi,” Rantaro says, “you have to have your video. We may not be completely certain that you watched it but...I’m sure Gonta had your video and now you have it.”

Ryoma shakes his head with a sigh.

“We couldn’t find Gonta’s motive video, well, your motive video during the investigation,” Rantaro explains. “It only makes sense that you have it.”

“Why would I keep it?” Ryoma argues. “You really have no idea what you’re on about.”

That is a good idea. Why would Ryoma keep it? If he watched the video and didn’t like what was on it and caused Gonta’s death, wouldn’t he have wanted to get rid of the video?

“Um,” Shuichi pulls on his hat. “Actually, I think…”

“You think what?” Ryoma spits.

The whole room reels back. The tennis player’s eyes are large, wide open and empty. He refuses to stop looking at the detective. It’s a shock to everyone. No one has seen Ryoma act this way before.

Shuichi ducks away.

“Hey,” Kaito’s face scrunches up. “Don’t be an asshole!”

Ryoma stares at the astronaut too.

“S-Stop that!” Kaito sweats. 

“Come on, Saihara!” Kokichi pumps his fists. “What were you going to say? It sounded super duper important!”

“Um,” Shuichi’s voice is barely audible. “That...that...maybe the motive video had a bigger role than we expected.”

“What do you mean?” Kirumi asks.

“Jeez, stop staring at us like that,” Kaito says, awkwardly looking away from the tennis player. “Your eyes are really creepy.”

“Hoshi is just trying to intimidate you both!” Kokichi announces rather happily. “Which makes him look even more suspicious!”

“Oh dear,” Tsumugi puts a hand to her mouth. 

“You guys,” Kaede hushes everyone. “Let Saihara speak.”

“Right, please continue,” Kiyo says.

“T-Thanks,” Shuichi says, “this is only a guess but...I think that the motive video was actually sort of the...murder weapon.”

“It was?!” Tenko gasps.

“Wow! Angie never saw that coming!” Angie bobs her head to the side. 

“Saihara, what do you mean it was sort of the murder weapon?” Kirumi asks in surprise. 

“I’m saying that,” Shuichi says, “maybe after Hoshi watched the video, he hated it so much that he ended up throwing it.”

“Oh, I see!” Kokichi nods, “so Hoshi threw the video and wam! He hit Gonta right in the head with it and Gonta ended up falling down the stairs!”

“Is this true?!” Tsumugi asks.

Ryoma stays quiet, now looking away from the rest of the group. 

“He must’ve thrown it really hard to have made Gonta fall down all those stairs,” Himiko points out.

“Well, he is the Ultimate Tennis Player,” Kiyo says, “he’s bound to have a strong hand and a good aim.”

“So where is the video now?” Himiko looks around. “Does Hoshi still have it?”

“Most likely,” Shuichi quietly explains.

Tenko puts her hands on her hips. “Well? Do you have your video?”

“...”

“Hoshi, please,” Kaede pleads. “We all just want to end this trial! Why won’t you say anything?”

“...”

“He’s probably realised he’s not getting out of this,” Kiyo observes.

“...”

“We still don’t know why he killed Gonta,” Himiko points out.

“...”

“Hoshi…” Rantaro fails to find the right words to say. What can he say? He really doesn’t know. He really, truly, doesn’t. He wants to comfort him yet he doesn’t know what the right thing to say is. Does Ryoma even deserve to be comforted?

“...fine.”

“Huh?”

Ryoma unzips his pocket and lifts up a motive video high into the air. It looks like any other regular motive video apart from the large crack that runs across the screen. The crack is deep and covers a large portion of the screen. Inside the crack is a fine line of pink blood, dried up and caked to the screen.

“I should’ve known that the Ultimate Detective would’ve figured everything out,” Ryoma says grimly, placing the motive video on the podium’s surface. “Good job, Saihara.”

“Huh?”

“I’m too...tired to keep this up,” Ryoma continues, rubbing his face. “But I guess it’s my fault for dragging out this trial for so long.”

“Hoshi? Are you admitting that you…” Tsumugi trails off with watery eyes. 

“You’re just going to admit it?” Monokuma bellows. “B-But what about having one last final argument? What’s the fun in just giving up?! I hate a boring ending!”

“Hmph,” Ryoma closes his eyes. “Weren’t you the one who was trying to end the trial just earlier?”

“Well, yes,” Monokuma answers, sweating. “But-”

“The whole reason we’re having this trial,” Ryoma says, “is to find Gonta’s killer. Well, I’m his killer. Let’s all just vote.”

“Wait a minute!” Kaito lifts a hand to his head with clenched teeth. “You haven’t explained why-”

“I will after we’ve all voted,” Ryoma promises. “Just...can we end it now? Please?”

Rantaro looks down at his podium and sees that everyone’s faces are on it. He swallows heavily before delicately pressing his fingertip against Ryoma’s face. The screen quickly disappears.

“Well it looks like everyone’s voted,” Monokuma angrily announces. A large monitor pops up and reveals a row of red lights all next to Ryoma’s face. “And you are all correct! The person who killed Gonta is Ryoma Hoshi, the Ultimate Tennis Player!”

“This is so fucked up,” Miu says, her legs shaking.

“Also rather anticlimactic,” Kokichi sighs. “I was really getting into being in a trial too! Why did you have to ruin it, Hoshi?”

“Ouma,” Kirumi clicks her tongue.

“It’s fine,” Ryoma says. “I just figured we should end it now. It was obvious that I wasn’t getting out of it.”

“So Saihara really was correct about everything,” Kaede says.

“Hoshi, I’m-” Shuichi is quickly cut off.

“Save it, kid,” Ryoma says. “Besides, I doubt Monokuma is going to give us much time before I get executed.”

“Correct!” Monokuma gleefully answers.

Ryoma pulls out his video again. “I’ve spent the last couple of days looking for this. Honestly, I had no idea Gonta had it but when I was talking to him last night, he was acting strange when I was talking to him.”

“Why were you even in the academy in the first place?” Maki asks.

“I was hiding from Gonta,” Ryoma replies. “I was busy trying to find my video. When I saw him taking people to his lab, I decided to hide.”

That’s right. Rantaro briefly remembers seeing Ryoma hide at the bottom of the steps whilst Gonta had carried him towards his lab. Ryoma had been the only person he’d seen hiding in the academy on the way to the bug party. Has the answer been this obvious the entire time?

“I didn’t come out of hiding until I saw Tojo leave. I ended up napping in the library during the time of the bug party,” Ryoma explains. “I hadn’t talked to Gonta about having my video and I knew that Akamatsu didn’t want everyone sharing them so I waited until Gonta was on his own before approaching him.”

“And then?” Tenko is hanging on to Ryoma’s every word.

“He started acting strange,” Ryoma frowns. “That’s when I realised he was acting really suspicious. It’s only then when I realised he was trying to hide my motive video in his pocket that I realised something was up. When he noticed that I had saw my video, he ended up running so I followed him. He ended up in my lab and when he noticed me, threw my video through the window.”

“Weren’t you worried that he could’ve broken it?” Tsumugi asks. 

Ryoma shakes his head. “Not really. I was more worried that he’d be punished for breaking it. However, at this point I was more than curious about what was on my video so I tried to get it before him. I didn’t know that Gonta was so fast. He ended up beating me and went back to the academy. Once again I went to follow him but figured that I could get my video quicker if I distracted him.”

“So that’s when you knocked over a box of bugs, correct?” Angie supplies.

“Yes. I knocked over the box of bugs and then I heard Gonta run into his lab to sort them out. Whilst he was distracted, I managed to grab my video and left the room. He realised this and left his bugs to fly around to follow me. I ended up watching the video right then because I had no idea when the next chance was going to be for me to watch it.”

“Hoshi,” Kirumi says, “what was on that video?”

“It’s probably easier if you all watched it yourselves,” Ryoma says.

He doesn’t hesitate to turn it on and the screen springs to life. The video introduces Ryoma before it cuts to black. Then, Monokuma pops up on the screen with a yellow builders hat and yellow tape. The video explains that Monokuma couldn’t find one person in the world that cared about Ryoma Hoshi. The video ends.

“What the hell?” Kaito shakes his head. “That’s so messed up!”

“Oh Hoshi…” Tsumugi sniffs. 

“I wanted to watch my video so I could remember the one person who cared about me,” Ryoma quietly explains. “But it turns out I’ve been alone all this time.”

“That’s not true!” Kaede objects. “We all care about you!”

“That’s right,” Rantaro agrees. 

Ryoma shakes his head, a bitter smile emerging on his face. “I appreciate it but...I was looking for someone different. Someone who knew me before all of this. I was looking for someone who was waiting for me.”

“And Monokuma showed you this instead,” Tenko growls. “That degenerate bear!”

“After watched that video,” Ryoma says, “Gonta had tried to comfort me but I was too full of despair to let him. There really is no reason why I killed him. Truthfully, Gonta was at the wrong place at the wrong time.”

“You killed him for no reason?!” Kokichi whistles lowly. “Wow.”

Ryoma ignores him but it’s clear that he’s distressed. “I ended up throwing the motive video at him and he fell down the stairs. I snapped out of my stupor at that moment and went to see if he was okay. He was alive but...it was clear he wasn’t going to make it.”

“What...what did he say?” Kaede asks gently.

Ryoma shoves his hands in his pocket.

\---

_Ryoma races down the steps frantically, throwing himself down onto the floor next to Gonta. The large gentleman blinks slowly, his eyes out of focus._

_“Hoshi? Is that you?”_

_“Everything is going to be fine,” Ryoma hears himself lie. He looks down at the pool of blood forming under Gonta’s head, knotting into his hair. “I’m just going to-”_

_“Gonta...Gonta’s cold,” Gonta says. ___

____

____

_Ryoma shakes his head, feeling bile crawl up his throat. “Let me just go and get Tojo, I’m sure she can-”_

_“Hoshi...saw his video right?” Gonta continues. He weakly lifts a hand that rests on Hoshi’s knee. “Gonta sorry...sorry that he couldn’t protect you from video.”_

_Ryoma swallows a broken laugh. God, he’s messed up big time. “It’s my fault, big guy. If I hadn’t-”_

_“Gonta think,” Gonta says, “that video is wrong. Gonta cared about Hoshi. Why wasn’t...Gonta in video?”_

_Ryoma doesn’t know what to say. He helplessly kneels on the floor, one of his smaller hands on top of Gonta’s. He slowly watches as Gonta’s blinking gets slower, his focus getting more and more hazy._

_“Gonta think Hoshi should find someone who cares about him outside,” Gonta’s voice starts to get quieter and quieter. “Someone must be waiting for Hoshi.”_

_“Gonta,” Ryoma firmly shakes his head. “Don’t you remember the rules? If I leave-”_

_“That’s right,” Gonta’s mouth wobbles as he tries to smile. “Hoshi leave! Hoshi needs to leave and find that someone!”_

_This is so messed up, Ryoma decides. His grip on Gonta’s hand gets stronger. “If I do that, Gonta, then everyone else will-”_

_“H-Hoshi?” Gonta’s fingers tremble. “Gonta...Gonta can’t see.”_

_Shit. “Gonta, I need to find someone who can help you.”_

_Ryoma moves to leave but feels Gonta’s hand grip weakly onto his leg, the giant’s movements slow and sluggish. “Don’t leave Gonta on own. Please?_

_“Gonta I need to-”_

_“Gonta getting really tired,” Gonta announces, his eyes slowly blinking._

_White hot panic firmly grips Ryoma. “Gonta, you need to stay awake. Just for a little longer-”_

_The giant clearly can’t hear him anymore. Gonta’s body slowly goes slack, the grip on Ryoma’s leg rapidly fading until the hand slides onto the ground with a thump. Ryoma stays knelt on the floor and blinks._

_He should go and get someone and tell them what happened._

_Ryoma looks at the body again._

_Can he just let Gonta die for no reason?_

\---

“Truthfully,” Ryoma says slowly, “I was going to get someone as soon as I realised he died but I realised I didn’t want to just let him die for no reason.”

“So you had this class trial,” Kiyo concludes. “I see. I suppose one would understand why you did it.”

“Yeah,” Ryoma looks away, hands still deep in his pocket. 

“But why did you suddenly change your mind?” Kaede asks. “You kept denying everything that was thrown your way! Why did you...give up?”

“You all kept talking about how well loved Gonta was,” Ryoma admits. “I just couldn’t live knowing that I took away someone so liked. You all knew that I was the killer anyway. I had no fight left in me at that point.”

“So you just gave up?” Kaito questions, disbelief smothered on his face.

Ryoma nods. “Saihara already had me figured out. Not that I’m angry, kid. It’s impressive that you managed to figure everything out. I just wish that...nah, forget it.”

“Hoshi?” Rantaro hears himself say. 

“I’m tired,” Ryoma announces, shoving his hands into his pocket. “So can we just get on with my execution?”

“Hey, wait a second!” Kaede jumps, startled. 

Monokuma starts to grin. “But of course! Right this way!”

“Hoshi!” Kaito tries to dart forwards. “You can’t seriously mean that you want this?”

“I killed Gonta,” Ryoma easily says. “I’m getting what I deserve. I should've just said something sooner. Sorry, everyone.”

“Ahahaha!” Monokuma doesn’t even attempt to cover his large smirk. “I’ve never had someone so willing to have their own execution before! This certainly is going to be interesting!”

“Hoshi!” Tsumugi gasps, her hands covering her mouth as she backs away.

Kaede helplessly stumbles back as a chain flies through the air and latches itself around Ryoma’s neck. The tennis player acts like it isn’t there and closes his eyes, a peaceful expression gracing his face. 

“It’s punishment time!” Monokuma’s shrill voice cries across the room. 

Ryoma is dragged down a long hallway by the chain. No one is able to follow him as the chain speeds up, pulling it’s willing victim towards his death. The students shakily step back as they watch in shock as the execution begins. 

**Game Over**

**Ryoma Hoshi has been found guilty**

**Time for punishment!**

Ryoma’s dropped into a large room that is one large tennis court. He pulls himself up from the group and attempts to move forwards only to find a large ball and chain keeping him firmly stuck to one spot. He grimaces but looks straight ahead.

A pair of Monokumas come rushing onto the court and one of them throw Ryoma a tennis racket which he easily catches on reflex. He holds the racket in his hands and gets into position. The Monokumas on the opposite side of the net start to serve tennis balls frantically, the sound of all the balls hitting the racket echoing around the room. Ryoma successfully manages to serve the balls back despite being stuck in one position.

He hits the two Monokumas in the head with tennis balls and they fall to the floor. As soon as the two bears are gone, another set of bigger bears appear, this time with bigger tennis balls. The game gets more intense and Ryoma struggles to serve the balls back but is again successful with taking the bears out. 

This time, only one bear appears on the opposite side of the court. It stomps loudly into position. Ryoma’s eyes widen when the floor around him starts to shake, causing him to lose balance. He stumbles to the floor and is confused when his ball and chain disappears. A shadow is then cast over him and he looks up to see a large Monokuma standing over him.

The Monokuma picks him up and Ryoma finally realises what is about to happen. He closes his eyes as he’s thrown up into the air. A large tennis racket makes contact with his body and he’s hit across the room, flying towards the other Monokuma who hits him with the other racket. He’s become a tennis ball for the bears.

Red hot pain explodes across his body as he’s hit over and over again, the Monokumas frantically hitting Ryoma to see who can win the game. Pink blood splatters start to decorate the court as blood gushes from the tennis player as he’s knocked from one side of the court to the other. The execution finally ends when one of the large Monokumas trips and miss Ryoma, causing him to fall towards the floor.

Whilst falling, Monokid excitedly bounces from the stands and ends up accidentally knocking over Monosuke, who falls to the floor. Monosuke picks himself up and goes to move back towards the stands when Ryoma’s body slams into him, breaking him into pieces. 

The execution finishes with Ryoma face first on the ground, unmoving. 

\---

No one speaks a word as the look at the scene in front of them. Shock runs through the group, causing each person to stay completely still and victim to being able to look forward. 

Rantaro can’t describe how he’s feeling right now. That execution...it had been horrible. 

He’s pulled out of his trance when he hears a loud sob come from Tsumugi. As if on reflex, he puts an arm around her shoulder and pulls her closer. She starts to cry into his chest and her tears soak into his shirt. 

“T-That was h-horrible!” she sobs. 

“Those sounds,” Miu shudders. “What the fuck…”

“May Atua help him rest in peace,” Angie says, her hands above her head. 

Kiyo crosses his arms. “How on earth is someone supposed to rest in peace after dying like that?”

From the other side of the room, Monokuma starts wailing. “My precious kub! He was my favourite too! My poor little Monosuck!”

“Monosuck?” Monophanie repeats. 

“Monokid, what the hell!?” Monotaro bounces up and down in surprise. “Why’d you kill him?”

“I didn’t mean to!” Monokid admits. “But you’ve got to admit it was pretty fucking cool!”

“...”

“Are you serious?!” Kaede spins around to shoot a glare at the black and white bear. “You’re upset over a dumb bear?”

“You’re right!” Monokuma stops crying. “Good thing they were five for the price of one!”

“We’re bought?!” Monophanie asks in alarm. 

“I never thought that the execution was going to be this...brutal,” Kirumi says, closing her eyes. “Poor Hoshi.”

“Even though he wanted his execution,” Tenko says, “Tenko doesn’t think that he would’ve wanted that.”

“Of course! No one in their right mind would want to die like that!” Kaito declares, pounding his fists together. “This is so messed up.”

“He didn’t even kill Gonta on purpose,” Kaede says, “it had been an accident!”

“I don’t think Monokuma cares if it was an accident or not,” Maki harshly responds. “He wanted a killer and he got one.”

“Did you have to put it like that?” Kiyo sighs. 

Rantaro hears Kokichi sniffle loudly next to him. “Poor Hoshi! He died thinking no one cared about hiiiim!”

“But we did!” Kaito insists. “All of us did!”

“He just didn’t realise it,” Kirumi says. 

“Or he didn’t want to,” Maki suggests. “He didn’t give us much time to talk to him before asking for his execution.”

Kaito clenches his fist. “Damn it! Why didn’t he just talk to someone?!”

“I know it’s sad,” Rantaro says, “but there’s nothing we can do right now.”

“Saihara? Are you okay?” Kaede asks.

Shuichi shakes his head. “I want to leave.”

“I suppose there’s not much we can do down here,” Kiyo agrees. “Although I wonder who is going to be dealing with the bodies.”

“Bodies?” Himiko says.

“Both Gokuhara and Hoshi, I presume?” Kirumi guesses. She furrows her eyebrows. “If it comes to it, I shall clean them up as respectfully as I can.”

“You shouldn’t have to do that on your own…” Rantaro says softly. 

“It’s fine,” Kirumi replies. “It is my duty as a maid to…clean up after all.”

The elevator ride up is eerily quiet. Tsumugi had finally let him go to cry on someone else’s shoulder. Rantaro stands in the corner quietly, unsure of what to say. He opts to stay silent.

It’s dark when they get outside. The moon is high up in the sky and the stars twinkle brightly. Just how long had that trial gone on for?

Rantaro spots Kirumi head towards the academy and follows after her. 

“Tojo, if you’re off to sort Gonta’s body,” Rantaro says, catching up to her. “At least let me help you. I don’t want you do have to clean up all on your own.”

Surprisingly, Kirumi doesn’t object. “Thank you, Amami.”

Together, they open the academy doors and they’re hit with a new wave of surprise. Gonta’s body is nowhere to be seen. In fact, the entrance of the academy is completely clean, void of any blood or broken glass. 

“When was Gonta moved?” Kirumi asks in wonder. 

“I’m not sure,” Rantaro replies. “Someone must’ve cleaned him up during the trial.”

“But all of us where down there,” Kirumi points out.

Rantaro pauses. Right now, he doesn’t really know how to respond. “I guess Monokuma will probably tell us tomorrow.”

“Ah, perhaps,” Kirumi agrees. 

“I guess that all we can do now is go to bed,” Rantaro says, opening the academy doors back open for Kirumi. 

She blinks at him before smiling at him. “Thank you.”

“It’s no problem.” Rantaro allows the door to close behind him. 

“Amami,” Kirumi suddenly says. “There’s actually something I need to say.”

“Hmm?”

Rantaro is surprised when Kirumi bows, her body neatly folding as her hair drops over her face, the moonlight causing her body to look like it's glowing. “I want to thank you for helping me during the trial. Even when everyone was suspicious of me, you still helped. I am grateful for your kindness.”

“Ah, um, it’s no problem!” Rantaro feels flustered as Kirumi straightens herself up.

She offers him a brief smile. “Let’s head back to the dormitory together. Would it help if I stayed with you for the night? I don't want to alarm you but the mastermind still may be after you.”

“I mean,” Rantaro rubs the back of his head. “You don’t have to but if you want to I guess I can’t object?”

Kirumi smiles and follows him to his bedroom. He locks the door firmly once the two are inside and slips the key into his pocket.

“You can take the bed!” Rantaro quickly insists. “I’ve already been sleeping on the couch for the last couple of nights, I’m used to it!”

“No, I want you to take the bed,” Kirumi firmly says. “Comfort is something that does not bother me. I’ll only sleep better knowing that you have somewhere comfortable to sleep yourself.”

Rantaro helplessly blinks before giving in and slipping into his bed. For a moment, he feels sad and remembers the nights that Gonta had slept with him to keep him safe. Now he’s gone. 

Ryoma too.

He looks up at the ceiling wordlessly, replaying the execution over and over again in his mind. It had truly been horrible to witness, watching Ryoma being hit around the room like a rag doll. Whilst Rantaro is uncertain when Ryoma actually died during the execution, he hopes that it had been early on.

Rantaro rolls onto his side and pulls out his three tablets. Tomorrow, he will discard of the motive video as there’s a high chance they’ll no longer be useful. He slips all three of them into his pillowcase before placing his head on top of it, closing his eyes. 

He needs to open up that hidden door and expose the mastermind. Rantaro can’t let anymore of his friends die.

No, he _won't_ let anyone else die.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> :,) sorry Ryoma


	10. Chapter 10

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm sorry this chapter took longer than usual to post! I've been busy checking it over and over and writing the next chapter too! From the looks of things, this is currently the longest chapter yet! However, the next chapter is probably going to be even longer from the looks of things. 
> 
> Thank you for reading!

“I hope people start to arrive soon.”

Kirumi frowns at the table. She and Rantaro had spent a good hour setting up breakfast for everyone. The table is full of empty plates for the students whilst the middle of the table offers a large variety of different foods to choose from. The only problem is that no one has arrived for breakfast yet. 

Rantaro leans against the walls, also frowning. “I would’ve thought at least a couple of people would’ve turned up.”

Despite the events of yesterday, Kirumi woke up early and ended up waking Rantaro up in the process. Despite apologising and insisting that he could stay in bed, Rantaro decided to join the maid to make breakfast for everyone, wanting an easy distraction. Whilst is had been peaceful cooking with the maid, there had also been the nagging feeling of dread following Rantaro around the entire morning. 

Kirumi tugs on her glove. “Perhaps I should just make a plate for everyone and deliver them to their rooms…”

“No,” Rantaro shakes his head. “We can’t just let everyone wallow in pity forever. I know that they’re all probably upset but isolating themselves isn’t going to help.”

“I see,” Kirumi says. She looks over the table once more. “But should we at least go and check on everyone and make sure they’re getting ready? Perhaps they just need a bit of support to face the day?”

It’s a good idea. Rantaro pushes himself off the wall, ready to go and head to the dormitories when the dining room doors finally open.

“Come on! I’m starving!”

“I didn’t ask you to drag me here.”

Kaito happily marches to the table and takes a seat, pulling Maki along with him. She pouts when she notices Kirumi and Rantaro looking at her and quickly sits down at the table, playing with her hair. 

“Ah, good morning!” Kirumi seems less tense now that there’s people here. “This morning I’ve…”

Rantaro stops listening and goes to take a seat at the table, choosing to sit where he always has. Still, the room seems too empty, even with Kaito and Maki now starting to place food on their plates. 

“We didn’t see anyone whilst heading here,” Kaito admits, biting down on a piece of toast. “So I presumed everyone was already eating breakfast!”

“I’m afraid it’s just been the two of us,” Kirumi says, glancing over at Rantaro. “I hope people start arriving soon. Their food is starting to get cold.”

“Is that what you care about?” Maki asks. “How cold the food gets?”

“Maki,” Kaito sighs, nudging her almost playfully with his elbow. “Come on, don’t be like that.”

Kirumi blinks before shaking her head. “No, she does have a point. There certainly are more pressing matters I should be worrying about right now.”

Rantaro tiredly offers Kirumi a smile. “How about you sit down for now? You’ve been up for a while preparing all of this. If people really are hungry then they’ll come here when they want to.”

“But…” Kirumi looks over at the door.

“If people don’t start arriving soon,” Rantaro says, “I’ll go and get them from their rooms.”

“That seems like a good idea!” Kaito agrees. “We can’t just let what happened yesterday affect us forever!”

“You seem to be in a good mood,” Kirumi observes.

“Well,” Kaito chews thoughtfully, “I know what happened yesterday was super shitty but we all can’t sit around and do nothing! We still need to find a way to get out of here!”

Rantaro nods. “The sooner the better.”

Kirumi pours herself a cup of tea, closing her eyes. “Whilst that is a good plan, we don’t exactly know how we should get out of here. I’m sure for now, Monokuma is content due to yesterday’s events but if we all start trying to find a way to leave again, wouldn’t Monokuma just give us another time limit?”

Rantaro fumbles with his tea cup, running his thumb along the bumpy texture of it. Surely Monokuma is happy that he got to execute someone yesterday. Does that mean the bear will leave them alone for a while until he demands another murder? If that’s the case, Rantaro will have to work quickly to figure out a way for everyone to leave.

“The only reason Monokuma gave us a time limit in the first place,” Maki points out, “is because Akamatsu started mouthing off. If she just stays quiet this time around, we should all be fine.”

“Man,” Kaito groans, “what is your problem with Kaede? It’s not like she asked Monokuma to give us all a time limit!”

“Who knows,” Maki harshly dumps a couple of grapes onto her plate. “She did try to kill someone herself. It’s rather convenient that she knew where the secret door was herself and managed to make a perfect trap just in time to heroically stop the mastermind.”

“Harukawa, what are you suggesting?” Kirumi asks.

Maki folds her arms. “I don’t care that you’ve all forgiven her. I haven’t.”

“Makiroll,” Kaito leans back in his chair. “Come on. I know you don’t like her but can you at least put in a little effort and be nicer to her? She didn’t mean to go for Amami, she was only going after the mastermind!”

Silently, Maki stabs a grape with a fork and shoves it into her mouth, chewing slowly. She doesn’t respond to Kaito.

“Ah, that reminds me,” Kaito continues, finally leaning forwards so all four legs of his chair are now on the floor. “Maki wants to speak with you later, Amami.”

“She does?” Rantaro asks.

“I do?” Maki hisses, putting her fork down. “Since when?”

“Like yesterday,” Kaito says, obliviously grinning. “She wants to speak with you in private about something really important.”

“And what’s this really important thing?” Kirumi hastily cuts in, frowning. 

“Sorry, sorry,” Kaito rubs the back of his head. “It’s nothing that I can personally share right now. Don’t worry about it, Tojo!”

“I can’t help but worry when you put it like that,” Kirumi murmurs.

Rantaro looks over at Maki. Why does she want to talk to him out of all people? Rantaro can’t help but worry. He doesn’t exactly warm to the idea of being alone with Maki for a long time. She’s intimidating.

At least the small group is distracted by Monokuma’s appearance. He blinks at the group and then looks down at a thick pile of paper in his hands. 

“I swear if the script is wrong again,” the bear mutters under his breath. 

“What are you doing here?” Kirumi calmly asks. 

“Oh, nothing!” Monokuma puts the paper away. “I just thought I went to the wrong place again!”

“What do you mean wrong place?” Rantaro asks.

“I’m more concerned about the again part,” Maki mumbles. 

Monokuma puts a hand above his eyes as he scans the room. “Where is everyone? They’re all supposed to be at least out of their rooms by now! Jeez! Youths these days. You’re all getting so lazy. Back when I was in bear school I had to wake up super early! Now that I think about it, I’d have these nice dreams about myself-”

“Yeah, yeah,” Kaito crosses his arms. “You’re here to give us some more random shit, right?”

“They’re not random!” Monokuma huffs. “They’re all very important for your stay here at the Ultimate Academy!”

“Is some more of the school being unlocked?” Kirumi asks.

“But of course!” Monokuma says. “I’d happily hand over your gifts now but they’re for everyone! To think I’ve come all this way to give you all a special treat and hardly no one turns up for it! It’s like throwing a birthday party and having no one turn up!”

The four remaining Monokubs bounce into the room seemingly out of nowhere. They’ve clearly got the gifts with them but start to look around the room in confusion. 

“Eh, where is everyone? Are we already at the end of the game?” Monotaro asks.

“It can’t be!” Monophanie gasps. “We only had a class trial yesterday! Unless...we’ve started hibernation early?!”

“No, no,” Monokid lifts a guitar up in the air. “I remember killing Monosuke like it was only yesterday!”

“That’s because it was!” Monokuma grumbles. 

“This-isn’t-getting-along,” Monodam holds his metal paws together. “Friends-need-to-be-together-to-get-along.”

“Well maybe if you didn’t make us kill each other then maybe more of us would turn up for breakfast,” Maki points out lowly.

Monophanie gasps. “Ah! She’s here!”

“She? Whose she?” Monotaro sweats.

Monokuma growls. “Quiet! The big reveal hasn’t been done yet!”

Maki glares at the bear before she goes back to stabbing her grapes.

“So, are we getting the prizes or not?” Kaito asks. 

Kirumi speaks up. “I think it would be beneficial if you were to give them to us now. Whilst not everyone is here, I am certain that they’ll all eventually turn up for breakfast. We can simply share out the prizes then.”

“Will-the-prizes-help-everyone-get-along?” Monodam suddenly asks. 

“Uh, probably?” Kaito says. “I don’t know why you’re so obsessed about this getting along shit and then try and make us all kill each other. It makes absolutely no sense.”

“It’s for the drama!” Monokuma responds, throwing his paws up in the air. “That’s it! I give up! Kids, sort them out for me.”

Monokuma leaves quickly. The colourful bears end up shoving the items onto the table before following after their father. Monodam pauses to look at the four and blinks. He leaves.

“He gives me the chills,” Kaito mutters, shivering. 

Rantaro inspects the items on the table. This time they’ve got a golden hammer, a strange looking key and a scroll of some sorts. It’s one less than last time. If he’s correct, however, they’re going to be unlocking a new floor with one of these items. The new floor will have a couple of new rooms but nothing of too much importance. However, Angie’s and Kiyo’s labs should become available for them. There should be another room of some sort that is important too. 

“Perhaps if we show everyone these items,” Kirumi says, standing up. “Then they’ll be tempted to get out of bed?”

“Maybe,” Rantaro picks up the scroll. “These prizes get stranger and stranger…”

“What do you think this is for?” Kaito picks up the hammer. “Maybe if I’ll hit Ouma with it, he’ll stop annoying everyone!”

“I’m sure he’ll do a lot more than that if you do hit him with it,” Kirumi plucks the hammer from Kaito’s hand. “These prizes can only be used with objects and locks around the school, correct? I highly doubt that injuring another person will help us at all.”

“W-Who said anything about injuring?” Kaito sweats. 

Maki sighs heavily. “Can we just get this over with?”

Rantaro keeps a hold of the scroll whilst Maki swipes the key from the table, storming off ahead of the group. Kirumi keeps the hammer and heads off to the dormitories to wake everyone up.

“Harukawa and I shall wake up the girls,” Kirumi says. “I have a feeling Chabashira wouldn’t be happy to see the two of you waking up the girls.”

Rantaro quickly agrees. “I’ll take the top row of boys. Momota, you wake up the bottom row.”

However, it’s only when Rantaro is halfway up the steps does he realise there’s only one door he needs to knock on. He silently looks over at Gonta’s and Kiibo’s doors. It’s strange. It was only a couple of days ago when everyone woke up at the academy together. Rantaro really didn’t have much time to get to know Kiibo but he’s sure that the robot was probably a nice person and perhaps even someone Rantaro would’ve liked to have gotten on with. Gonta was also a true gentlemen, even when he was dying. 

Rantaro clears his throat and briskly knocks on Kokichi’s door and takes a step back. He waits and waits some more. Rantaro knocks again.

“Oum-”

“Amami!”

Kokichi pokes his head out from the door but doesn’t open it any further. The supreme leader’s hair looks wild and more curlier than usual and Rantaro can only guess that it hasn’t been brushed yet. However, Kokichi is wearing his usual white clothing and checkered scarf.

“Did you even go to bed last night?” Rantaro asks.

“Huh? Me?” Kokichi asks. “Of course I did! I slept like a baby! You actually woke me up, you big meanie!”

“Ouma,” Rantaro says. “Nearly no one turned up to breakfast. Monokuma dropped off our prizes and everyone who did decide to turn up thought we should wake everyone else up. That includes you.”

“No one turned up for breakfast?” Kokichi blinks. “But breakfast is the most important meal of the day! If you don’t eat it then you’ll die!”

“Stop being dramatic,” Rantaro sighs. “Are you ready? I think we’re going to start exploring the school some more once everyone has had breakfast.”

“We’re going to explore?” Kokichi’s eyes light up. “Why didn’t you say so! Let’s go!”

“Breakfast first,” Rantaro firmly says, stopping Kokichi in his tracks. The smaller boy pouts but ends up waiting next to Rantaro as the students slowly start leaving their rooms one by one. 

Rantaro is waiting by the front door when he hears Kaito let out a frustrated huff.

“Saihara won’t open his door!” Kaito huffs, crossing his arms. 

“Maybe he simply isn’t in his room?” Kiyo suggests.

“He has to be!” Kaito says. “I don’t see why he’d be anywhere else in the academy right now! Hey! Saihara! Open up!”

“Stop that,” Maki knocks Kaito’s hand away from the door that he keeps hitting. “If he doesn’t want to come out right now then fine. We’ll have breakfast and then come back for him.”

“But won’t he get hungry?” Tsumugi frets. 

“Is he even alive?” Kokichi asks, grinning when Kaito starts to knock loudly at the door again.

Kaede shuffles to the front of the group. “Kaito, why don’t you take everyone back to the dining room for now? I don’t think Saihara is up to dealing with a lot of people right now.”

Kaito opens and closes his mouth before huffing. “Fine, but if you’re not back within half an hour I will come back!”

“And that’s fine,” Kaede smiles. “Just trust me on this, okay?”

Kirumi ends up leading the group to the dining hall and spends most of her time making sure that the group is comfortable. She doesn’t sit down once whilst everyone tiredly chooses their breakfasts.

“Why are we all awake anyway?” Himiko asks, yawning loudly. “I didn’t want to get out of bed.”

“Because,” Kaito says, “Monokuma dropped off some more items for us to use around the academy. We’re all going to explore later whether you all like it or not! I’m not letting any of you just sit around in self pity! Communication is important and it’s clear from what happened yesterday that there was a clear lack of it.”

“You mean Hoshi feeling excluded from the group?” Kiyo asks.

“But we didn’t exclude him!” Tenko says. “Whilst he was a male, Tenko would’ve helped him if he really wanted it!”

“Maybe he didn’t want help,” Tsumugi suggests. “He did seem pretty depressed at the end of the trial.”

“He seemed depressed the entire time we’ve been here,” Maki points out.

“And none of you tried to help him!” Kokichi sniffles. “And now Gonta and Hoshi are dead!”

“Shut up!” Kaito clenches his fists, shaking his head. “What happened yesterday was nobody’s fault! What happened was really, really shitty but we can’t all just let ourselves get upset over what happened! Even if Hoshi did give up, I have a feeling he didn’t want any of us too! He ended the trial himself because he didn’t want any of us to die! If we all just sit around and do nothing then we’ll just be dishonoring him!”

“But Momota,” Kiyo says, “weren’t you the one who told him that you had no respect for him?”

“That’s before I knew what really happened!” Kaito retorts, refusing to look anyone in the eye. 

“Wow! I bet Momota made Hoshi feel really bad before he died!” Kokichi says. “How mean!”

“Just shut up!” Kaito pauses before taking a long drink, deciding not to comment any further. 

“I don’t think Momota had wanted to make Hoshi feel bad during the trial,” Kirumi points out quietly. “He just wanted to live. I think it’s fair to say that we all want to live. Even though what happened was unfortunate, we cannot change the past. So for now I think it’s best if we all try to continue on as normal.”

“That’s right,” Angie agrees. “We all can’t just sit around forever! Atua says that’s a really bad thing to do!”

“Then should we all explore after breakfast?” Tsumugi asks. “Together?”

“That sounds like a good idea,” Rantaro says. “Right now, I don’t think anyone really wants to be on their own.”

“Then it’s decided!” Tenko slams her hands down onto the table. “We’ll all split up into groups again and find the new areas of the school! Tenko will look after the girls of course.”

“The groups we had before should be fine,” Kiyo says. “Although, right now Momota would be on his own.”

Kaito pouts. “Then I’ll just join another group! We only got three objects anyway.”

“So that means that we only need three groups,” Maki says. “Momota, Amami and I will be fine in our own group.”

“Just the three of you?” Kirumi asks, frowning. 

“Uh, yeah,” Kaito quickly agrees. “Just the three of us will be fine.”

“Eh, that wasn’t suspicious at all,” Kokichi drawls. “Amami, do you think that there’s something wrong with them two?”

“Uh,” Rantaro blinks. Whilst he isn’t sure why Maki had singled out both him and Kaito completely, he has a feeling it has something to do with before. “Not really. I’m fine being in a group with them two.”

“But that wouldn't make the groups evenly split,” Kiyo points out. “I’ll happily join-”

“No,” Maki snaps. “Just...the three of us will be fine.”

Her chair scrapes across the floor as she stands up. Kaito looks up at her. “Maki? Where are you going?”

“I’ll be waiting inside my room,” she says. “Just...get me when you’re all done.”

She walks out of the room silently, ignoring the confused looks that the rest of the students give her. 

“What was that about?” Himiko questions, stirring her rice around her bowl.

“Tenko isn’t sure,” Tenko admits. She starts to glare at Kaito and Rantaro. “But should we let her be alone with two boys? Tenko thinks that Harukawa should stick with being with us girls!”

Rantaro sweats. “Why is that?”

“Because!” Tenko explodes. “If she stays alone with the two of you then who knows what will happen! What if you both give into your boy urges and-”

“Boy urges?” Miu chokes on her breakfast, spluttering. “Just say it how it is! You think that those three are gonna have a big fucking orgy and you’re jealous that you’re not invited!”

“Tenko would never want to do such an act!” Tenko’s face turns red. “Especially not with any boys!”

“Oh dear,” Tsumugi droops as Tenko starts to angrily tear apart a piece of bread. 

“I wouldn’t want to do that with either of them anyway!” Kaito pales. 

“Wow, Amami has been really quiet!” Kokichi points out. “Is it that you really wanted to get it on with Harukawa and Momota!”

“Ouma,” Rantaro wants to curl up into a ball and just disappear. “Please don’t make this worse.”

“I mean, I wouldn’t blame you,” Kokichi decides to ignore him. “Although I would swap Harukawa out for literally anyone else-”

“Can we please change the subject!” Rantaro yelps.

“I agree,” Kirumi says. “We shouldn’t be discussing something so inappropriate whilst eating in the first place.”

“Thank you, Tojo,” Kaito heavily breathes. 

Kirumi clears her throat. “We only have three objects so it’s safe to assume that there’s less places to explore. Amami, Harukawa and Momota can keep the scroll and try and find what it is used for. As for the rest of us, we shall split up into teams of two to use the rest of the objects. I shall join Shinguji and Ouma whilst the rest of the girls can stick together. Once Akamatsu and Saihara arrive, they can too join my group.” 

“Tenko supposes that is okay,” Tenko crosses her arms. “But if any of the boys start harassing you, give Tenko a shout! I’ll use my neo-aikido on them if you want me to!”

“I highly doubt you’ll need to use it on me,” Kiyo reassures her. “Ouma on the other hand…”

“Huh? You think I want to bother my own mother?” Kokichi’s lip wobbles.

“Atua says we should finish breakfast as soon as we can and start exploring!” Angie says. “The sooner we finish, the more fun we can have together!”

“My, my,” Kiyo says. “You certainly seem to be in a good mood.”

“But of course!” Angie smiles. “I had a long conversation with Atua last night and we figured out some marvelous things together! Angie just needs a little more time before she can tell everyone Atua’s plans!”

“Atua’s plans?” Tsumugi repeats. 

“That reminds me,” Himiko says. “When are we putting on my magic show?”

“That’s right!” Tenko gasps. “All the girls put a lot of effort into setting that up! Yumeno will be really disappointed if we don’t have it!”

“Wait, wait, wait!” Angie says, waving her hands up in the air. “Angie would like to talk to Himiko about her magic show! Atua has some good plans for it!”

“He does?” Tenko asks, raising an uncertain eyebrow. 

Angie nods. “Atua has noticed that everyone is really sad right now because of what happened yesterday! So, so Angie thinks it’s a good idea that we turn the magic show into a party! Everyone loves parties, correct?”

“As long as there’s no bugs,” Miu whimpers. 

“Ah, Angie,” Tsumugi says. “Is it a really good idea for us to be throwing a party? Gonta threw one and look what happened to him…”

“Tenko won’t let anyone hurt Yumeno or any of the girls!” Tenko declares. “If Tenko so much as thinks one of the boys is acting suspicious I’ll kick them out right away!”

“Don’t worry,” Angie says. “As long as this party isn’t being thrown for selfish reasons, we’ll all be fine!”

“Selfish reasons?” Rantaro frowns.

“Gonta’s party was thrown so everyone’s motive videos could be stolen, correct?” Angie says, a paintbrush between her fingers. “Unless Himiko is hiding something, there isn’t a reason why we shouldn’t have her magic show! Angie thinks it’s a great idea to have a party so that everyone can get along!”

“You sound just like one of those monokubs,” Kokichi giggles.

“So it’s decided!” Angie says. “We shall have Himiko’s magic show tomorrow morning! How exciting!”

“You all better turn up!” Tenko says. “Yumeno wants everyone to be there!”

“I guess so,” Himiko admits slowly. Her facial expressions don’t change much and it makes it difficult for Rantaro to figure out how the girl really is feeling. She notices him staring and blankly blinks at him. He instantly looks away when Tenko notices him looking.

“So now that’s sorted,” Kaito says, pushing away from the table. “I’m ready to go. Amami, are you coming?”

“Ah, yeah.” Rantaro stands up and leaves the table, leaving a small amount of food leftover on his plate. 

\---

Kaito loudly knocks on Maki’s door until she opens it. The girl scowls when she spots Kaito and for a moment, Rantaro wonders if Kaito has done something really wrong to warrant such a look from the girl. 

“You have to stop knocking like that,” Maki says, frowning. 

“Like what?” Kaito looks truly baffled. 

“Nevermind,” Maki sighs. She looks at the scroll in Rantaro’s hands. “So we have to unlock something using that?”

“Yeah,” Rantaro nods, looking down at the scroll. It’s rather light in his hands, which would make sense since it’s merely made out of paper. 

“Any idea where we should start looking?” Kaito asks, scrolling through his monopad to look at the map. “I haven’t seen anywhere in the academy that it could be used on.”

“I think I have,” Rantaro admits. He thinks back to the full map of the school. Tenko’s lab has shown to be outside. There’s also a small statue that Rantaro thinks the scroll would easily slot into. “Maybe we should head outside and take a look.”

“Sounds like a plan!” Kaito agrees, marching towards the dormitory doors. 

Maki’s eyes follow the astronaut before she quietly reaches back into her room and pulls out Kaede’s white backpack. Rantaro watches in surprise as she slings it over her back and wordlessly follows Kaito outside.

“So Yumeno is going to be having her magic show tomorrow,” Kaito tells Maki. “I think she wants everyone there but you can never tell with her.”

“I’m not bothered,” Maki says. “I’ll just stay in my lab.”

“You can’t do that!” Kaito sighs loudly. “Geez, you need to interact with the group more!”

Maki scowls as she ducks her head away from Kaito’s intense gaze. 

“I mean,” Kaito continues. “I know magic isn’t actually real and all that crap but I think the group will be less wary of you if you start hanging around with everyone more! Also you remembered what happened yesterday! I don’t want anyone feeling alone whilst they’re here, it’s important that we stick together as a team!”

“You know that will be impossible,” Maki snaps. 

Rantaro awkwardly fumbles with the scroll, feeling like a child listening to his parents argue. 

“Not if we believe in each other!” Kaito insists. 

“Your belief in other people is going to get you killed,” Maki says.

Kaito grins. “But it hasn’t!”

“Yet,” Maki mutters. 

Kaito ignores her. “We’ll all figure out a way to leave this place together! I’m sure of it! Teamwork is really important if we all want to leave this place. We can’t all start turning on each other now!”

“Obviously,” Maki rolls her eyes. “But we can’t just trust everyone blindly either.”

“But you trust me,” Kaito says, blinking.

“That’s because you’re an idiot,” Maki says. “And I don't...completely trust you.”

“You don’t?” Kaito looks sad.

Rantaro clears his throat, feeling more than awkward at this point. They’ve gone down the steps and are in the opening outside. He notices the small statue and heads towards it, kneeling down in front of it. 

“I think that the scroll will probably fit in here,” Rantaro says and starts to push the scroll into a slot.

There’s momentary silence before the ground starts shaking. Kaito yells and grabs onto Maki, who pushes him off her angrily. Rantaro watches as the grass starts to split and a building emerge from the ground, building up higher and higher until the ground stops completely shaking. 

“What is that?” Kaito asks once the floor stops trembling. 

Maki narrows her eyes. “It looks like a dojo. We’ve probably just found Chabashira’s lab.”

“Sweet! Let’s look inside!” Kaito rushes towards the lab. 

Rantaro hesitates. “I’m not sure we should enter without Chabashira’s permission.” He has a feeling she wouldn’t hesitate to use her neo-aikido on any boy who enters her lab without her permission first. 

“She’s not here right now,” Maki points out, stalking towards the lab herself. “Just remember to take your shoes off before you enter.”

Rantaro leaves his shoes outside before entering. Clearly Kaito never heard Maki as he’s running around the place with his shoes still on, kicking up dust. 

The lab definitely looks like it belongs to Tenko. There’s thick mats running across the floor and lots of wooden poles and equipment scattered around the room. Rantaro takes a step onto one of the mats, his foot sinking into it slightly. Maki follows, instead going further and stopping Kaito to scold him for keeping his shoes on. The astronaut lets out an embarrassed laugh and throws his shoes towards the entrance. Maki sighs. 

“This place does seem pretty cool,” Kaito admits. “Although I wish I could have my lab soon. Why wasn't everyone given their labs in the first place?”

Rantaro opens and closes his mouth. That is a good point. Wouldn’t it make sense that everyone got their labs together? Rantaro thinks back to his secret map. Kaito wouldn’t be getting his lab for a while if he’s correct. From the way things have been going, Monokuma only gives out prizes for completing class trials. In order for everyone to get their labs, a few more people have to die. Rantaro doesn’t think that it’s worth it at all. 

“Probably because the school hasn’t been finished,” Maki answers. “Although I don’t get why they’ve put us in a half finished school in the first place.”

“I guess that’s another mystery we’ll have to figure out for later!” Kaito cheers. 

Rantaro smiles. “You’re rather optimistic about everything.”

“Well,” Kaito rubs the back of his head. “I don’t see no point in being sad about everything. There’s nothing much we can do anyway! We might as well do what we can!”

“You really are an idiot,” Maki mumbles. 

Rantaro feels the lightest he’s ever felt today as he watches Kaito laugh at Maki, who hides herself in her hair. She stomps towards the doors when she’s stopped by Kaito, who runs after her and spins her around. 

“Where are you going?” he asks. “Isn’t this the best time to talk to Amami?”

Ah, that’s right. Kaito did mention this morning that Maki had wanted to talk to him. Although, from the looks of things, perhaps it was Kaito who wanted Maki to talk to him. That seems more likely, especially due to Rantaro noticing Maki start to tense up and slowly turn back around. Her face remains neutral as she looks up at Rantaro. She then starts to scowl. 

“It doesn’t matter,” Maki says. “It’s nothing important.”

“It kind of is,” Kaito argues, pounding his fists together. “So come on!”

“I don’t have to do anything,” Maki hisses, taking a step back. “Amami, just ignore him.”

“But Makiroll,” Kaito ignores the terrifying glower that Maki shoots his way. “I know you’re nervous but-”

“I’m not nervous,” she snaps. “But your idea is really stupid-”

“No it’s not-”

“Yes it is-”

“I’m only trying to help you-

“No, you’re making a big mistake,” Maki says. “You really don’t understand anything, do you?”

“I do understand one thing,” Kaito argues. “That right now you’re being a coward!”

Maki stops. 

Rantaro silently takes a step back, anxiety bubbling in his stomach.

“What did you call me?”

“A coward!”

Maki furiously holds the straps of the white backpack and begins to once again walk away.

“See! You’re doing it again!” Kaito yells. “I bet Amami won’t care that you lied about your tal-”

There’s a red blur and Rantaro can’t help but stare as he watches Maki pin Kaito to the ground, hands around his throat. Kaito’s eyes are wide as he begins to choke. Rantaro snaps out of whatever trance he was and lunges forwards to knock Maki away. Her head snaps up and Rantaro freezes, Maki’s red eyes staring into his own. 

Thankfully, Maki lets go. 

Kaito coughs loudly as a hand goes to his throat, struggling to sit up. Rantaro carefully heads to Kaito’s side, helping him sit up. Luckily they’re still on the mats so the floor is still comfortable. 

“Are you okay, Momota?”

“Fine, I’m...fine,” Kaito manages to respond, wiping his mouth before quickly wiping it on his inner jacket.

Maki wordlessly starts to walk away again.

“Maki,” Kaito sounds disappointed. “Don’t go.”

Silence. 

“Harukawa,” Rantaro decides to cut in. “You don’t have to tell me what’s wrong but you can’t go around attacking people like that. You could’ve seriously hurt Momota.”

Rantaro says this but he’s more surprised that the girl was able to quickly tackle the astronaut onto the ground so fast and silence him. If Rantaro is correct, that couldn’t have been the first time Maki has done that. But that wouldn’t make any sense. Maki is the Ultimate Childcare Giver, right?

Maki finally falters at this and for a moment, Rantaro thinks she’s going to turn around. She shakes her head and continues forwards.

“Damn it,” Kaito huffs, slowly pulling himself up. “Maki!”

She ignores him again. 

“The more you hide it, the worse it’s going to be when people figure it out!”

“I won’t let them,” Maki suddenly says.

Rantaro looks back and forth between Maki and Kaito. He’s still kneeling on the floor next to Kaito, who has finally been able to sit himself up properly. 

“Figure out what, Momota?” Rantaro asks. 

“Figure out nothing,” Maki repeats. “Stop asking stupid questions.”

“Maki is scared,” Kaito reveals suddenly. Maki’s fists clench. “But you won’t judge her right, Amami?”

“Why would I judge her?” Rantaro slowly asks. 

“Because,” Kaito ignores Maki, who starts to stalk towards the two. “She lied about her talent.”

Rantaro looks up in surprise. Maki stands in front of the two of them, her face scarily blank. 

“So did he,” Maki says, looking at Rantaro. 

He feels his stomach drop. 

“Come on, Maki,” Kaito sighs, patting the ground. “Let's all just sit down and talk this through.”

“Talk what through?” Rantaro asks as his voice gets louder. 

Maki thinks for a moment before letting herself drop onto the floor. She throws the white backpack into the middle of the group silently.

Kaito reaches for the bag and pulls out two motive videos and checks them before keeping a firm hold of them. 

“When the videos were handed out,” Kaito admits, “I got Maki’s. There was nothing wrong with her video, of course. Well, it was just her talent…”

Maki offers him no help, instead grimacing at the astronaut.

Kaito doesn’t hesitate as he turns on one of the videos. Maki’s name appears on the screen but Rantaro blinks when her talent appears. Maki Harukawa: Ultimate Assassin. 

She looks away, fiddling with her hair. 

“I mean,” Kaito grins, “of course I was surprised when I saw the video! I thought Monokuma was just screwing around! Then I saw her lab and it turns out it was true!”

“Don’t sound too excited,” Maki mutters. 

“Maki, I’m trying to help you,” Kaito says. “Of course I was surprised that she lied to us all but I also understood why. I mean, I wouldn’t want to tell the others that I was an assassin either.”

“Then why are you making me?” Maki asks through gritted teeth.

“Well,” Kaito looks annoyingly innocent as he picks up the next video. “I thought it would be easier for you to tell the group who you are if you had someone else do it with you!”

Kaito goes to turn on the next video when Rantaro snatches it out of his hands. Kaito blinks at his empty hand in surprise before noticing that it’s now in Rantaro’s hand. 

“Hey!”

“Don’t,” Rantaro says softly. He tries to fight the trembles that his body is making. He feels heavy and his head starts to spin. 

Maki ignores him. “I got your video. Obviously I didn’t care that it had your talent on it.”

“I thought that you didn’t know you knew your talent,” Kaito admits. “But I guess from that reaction…”

Rantaro pauses before his mind starts to scream at him. He’s such an idiot.

“So you’ve both been lying about your talents,” Kaito hums. 

“We don’t have to tell the others,” Maki says, turning to Rantaro. “I don’t care about your talent honestly. As long as it doesn’t affect me, I really couldn’t care less.”

“But what about Momota?” Rantaro asks. “He seemed fine to tell me about your talent.”

“He wanted me to tell you myself,” Maki admits. “He thought that if I talked to someone else who lied about their talent then it would be easier to admit to the group that we’ve been lying this whole time.”

Rantaro shakes his head. “We are not telling the group,” he says firmly.

“Why not?!” Kaito’s mouth falls open.

“I agree,” Maki says hastily. “I don’t care that you believe in everyone. I don’t. I’m sure Amami doesn’t completely trust the group either since he lied about his talent too.”

Rantaro is reluctant to agree but he has no choice. He couldn’t easily say that he trusts the entire group right now. “That’s right. I’m sure you had good intentions, Momota, but I’m not sure the rest of the group will be just as forgiving.”

“That’s why you both need to tell the truth now!” Kaito insists. “If you tell the group now rather than later, they’ll be less likely to hold it against you!”

“They’ll hold it against us regardless when we tell them,” Maki puts her foot down. “We’re in the middle of a killing game. If the group finds out that they’re up against an assassin and someone whose talent is apparently surviving, of course they wouldn’t want us around.”

Kaito looks frustrated. “I trust you both! Isn’t that something?”

“No, it makes you stupid,” Maki says. 

“I’m not stupid!” Kaito retorts. 

Maki snatches up her video. 

“Fine!” Kaito completely ignores Maki. “Amami, why do you want to hide your talent so bad? If anything everyone knowing that you’re the Ultimate Survivor would be more than helpful! You’ll be able to help the group with your talent! Wouldn’t you be able to teach them how to survive attacks or some shit like that?”

“Momota,” Rantaro sighs. “My talent doesn’t work like that. I don’t even know why I’m the Ultimate Survivor. I don’t even know what I survived.”

This catches Kaito by surprise. “You don’t?”

“No,” Rantaro firmly says. “I know I lied about my talent but I’m telling the truth when I say I don’t know why it’s my title. I woke up here like everyone else and just knew I was the Ultimate Survivor.”

“Is that it?” Maki asks. 

Rantaro nods, feeling the guilty weight of his perk in his pocket. How could he possibly tell people about what he knows now? 

“Then that settles it,” Maki concludes. “Momota is going to keep his mouth shut and Amami and I won’t tell anyone about our talents.”

“Come on,” Kaito droops. “Can’t you see I’m only trying to help you both?”

“Momota,” Rantaro says. “If people find out about our talents then they’ll probably not trust us. Right now our group needs to stay strong. Telling everyone that we lied will just invite trouble.”

“I won’t let there be any trouble!” Kaito promises. “I’ll make everyone understand why you both lied! They’ll understand. You both don’t have to be embarrassed about being scared-”

“You think I’m embarrassed?” Maki questions incredulously. “Momota, I know what will happen if the group finds out about my talent. I won’t tell them.”

“I don’t want to tell anyone either,” Rantaro admits. 

Kaito throws his hands up in the air. “Then what about me? What if I tell the group about your talents!”

“You wouldn’t dare,” Maki glares. 

Kaito roughly swallows. “Yeah, you’re right.”

“Momota,” Rantaro pleads. “Please don’t tell anyone.”

Kaito looks between the two before heavily sighing. “Geez, fine. You’re both lucky I believe in you both.”

Rantaro feels a spark of surprise. Maki pouts. “I told you that believing isn’t going to get you anywhere.”

“It doesn’t matter if you don’t believe in me, Maki,” Kaito grins. “But I believe in you! Even if you won’t reveal your talent I’m still going to believe in you! Just try and be nicer to the group and stop being so hostile towards Kaede. You and Ouma have been singling her out lately.”

“Maybe she deserves it,” Maki mutters.

“No offence, Maki,” Kaito snorts. “But can you really talk? You are an assassin.”

If looks could kill, Kaito would be dead right now. “I don’t trust her at all.”

“But why?”

“Because,” Maki confidently says, “she’s too suspicious.”

“She is?” Kaito looks confused. “She’s only done the best for the group so far! How is she suspicious?”

Maki’s grip on her tablet gets tighter. “Think about it. She somehow was one of three people who ended up finding the door. Out of the three people, she was the only one to resort to murder to try and end the killing game. Well, I’d say end loosely.”

“What do you mean by that, Harukawa?” Rantaro asks curiously.

“I think,” Maki says, “that Akamatsu is the mastermind and Momota is a fool for having so much trust in her.”

Kaito splutters. “How did you come up with that conclusion?!”

“Like I said, she was the one to try and kick start the killing game. Both Saihara and Amami tried to peacefully end the killing game,” Maki says. “Akamatsu tried to cave Amami’s head in with a shot put ball. If she had been successful she would’ve started the killing game.”

“Are you saying you would’ve rather been killed by Monokuma?” Kaito asks, shaking.

“If it means that I don’t have to participate in this killing game,” Maki furiously responds. “Then yes.”

Kaito is speechless as Maki storms out of the room. Rantaro can only watch as the assassin leaves without another word, slipping on her shoes and leaving the room. 

“I’ve really messed up,” Kaito runs a hand down his face. “But she can’t be serious. Kaede? The mastermind?”

Rantaro opens his mouth and then closes it. He really has no idea what to say. Instead, he holds onto his motive video tightly. 

“Amami, tell me that you don’t actually believe Kaede is the mastermind?” Kaito roughly grabs Rantaro’s arm and shakes him. “I mean, I know she’s messed up a couple of times but that doesn’t mean she’s the one behind the killing game! She’s been trying to stop it from day one!”

“It could’ve been an act,” Rantaro says.

Kaito shakes him again. “Amami! You seriously can’t be considering that she’s the mastermind! I thought you believed in her!”

“No, I forgave her for trying to kill me,” Rantaro responds. “But if Harukawa’s theory is correct…”

“She’s just lashing out,” Kaito tells him. “I upset her by pushing her and now she’s taking it out on Kaede for no reason! I know Maki hasn’t really liked Kaede from the start but she can’t actually think that she’s the mastermind!”

“Then who else could the mastermind be,” Rantaro asks desperately. “Because if it’s not Akamatsu, who else is it?”

“I don’t know!” Kaito responds. “But I just know it isn’t Kaede!”

Rantaro flops down on top of the mats with a frustrated sigh and closes his eyes. He thought that things were finally looking up. It turns out he was completely wrong. Now he has two people knowing about his talent. He supposes it could be a little worse. Neither Kaito or Maki know about his perk and he doesn’t plan on telling them either. Kaito would insist on sharing the perk with everyone. He’s not really sure about Maki, however. What he does know is that she could kill him in a heartbeat if he did something to piss her off. 

Hiding the fact that he has an advantage over everyone else would probably greatly annoy her. 

However, there is a small amount of comfort knowing he hadn’t been the only student lying about his talent. The only problem is that the other student is an assassin. Rantaro can’t help but feel intimidated. 

Then again, whilst Maki had shown she was dangerous, Rantaro can’t help but think that perhaps she isn’t as dangerous as she thinks she is. She could’ve easily killed Kaito when he tried to blab. Instead, she silenced him. She also could’ve easily taken someone out during the first motive Monokuma had given them and instead she didn’t harm a single student. 

Rantaro decides that maybe he should talk to Maki later. She has to hear him out, they’re both hiding each other’s secrets. 

“Hey, Amami!”

“What?”

Kaito recoils before sitting up tall again. “Are you sure you don’t want to tell the group about your talent? I’m not sure why you’re so afraid to let everyone else know about it but I really think you should tell everyone about it before things get messy.”

“Before things get messy?”

“Well, yeah,” Kaito says. “What if Monokuma one days decides to out both you and Maki? Isn’t it better that everyone finds out about your talent from you yourself? I know things have been pretty shitty for you since you’ve been singled out by the mastermind for some reason but wouldn’t you telling everyone about your talent give you power? Maybe the mastermind wants you to hide your talent and because of that, puts you and maybe the entire group at a disadvantage.”

Rantaro falls silent. He never actually thought about it that way. He plays with the button on his pocket, debating about showing Kaito his perk. If he puts the perk out into the open, would that be an advantage for the group? The mastermind already knows about his talent at this point and probably knows about his perks. There’s a high chance that they gave it to him in the first place. If everyone knows about the perk, would it throw the mastermind off?

Would the group accept the perk? 

“Well, whatever you choose,” Kaito says. “I believe in you!”

“Huh?”

Kaito pulls himself up from the floor and puts his hands on his hips. “I guess it was pretty shitty of me to put both you and Makiroll on the spot like that. If you’re both not going to tell the group your talents then I can’t stop you. I guess I will keep an eye on Maki though.”

“Isn’t that dangerous?” Rantaro asks. 

Kaito grins. “Nah, she doesn’t seem dangerous to me at all! Don’t worry, I’ll get her out of her shell! I’ll make her realise that she’s apart of this group too, whether she likes it or not!”

“And what about Akamatsu?”

“Huh?” Kaito blinks. “I still believe in her too! Maki is just jumping to conclusions. There’s no way that Kaede is the mastermind! I’ll find a way to prove it!”

Rantaro looks at the hand Kaito suddenly offers him and lets Kaito help him up. He’s about to thank him when Kaito quickly turns around and starts to cough. 

“Momota?”

“I’m fine!” Kaito sputters out in between coughs.

Rantaro takes a step forward, his hand reaching out when he freezes. Kaito lets out one last, harsh cough. He isn’t quick enough to hide the blood on his coat jacket.

“S-Shit,” Kaito says, staring at his sleeve.

“Momota!” Rantaro panics as he quickly stands in front of the other. “Are you...why is there blood?”

“It’s nothing!” Kaito says with a wobbly smile. “I think I’m just getting a bad cold, that’s all.”

“You don’t cough up blood when you have a cold,” Rantaro firmly informs him, crossing his arms. 

“Of course do you,” Kaito insists. “I’m an astronaut, I know these things!”

“Momota, I’m pretty sure that this isn’t healthy,” Rantaro says. “How about I take you to Tojo and-”

“No!” Kaito knocks away Rantaro’s helping hand. When he realises what he has done, he looks away and clears his throat. “What I mean is I’m fine. My body just works a little different from other people’s, that’s all.”

Rantaro shakes his head, exasperated. “I really don’t think-”

“Amami. Please. Just drop it.”

Kaito shuffles off the mats and wordlessly picks up his shoes. He stumbles as he puts them back on and leaves the room. 

“You should probably find one of the other groups,” Kaito suggests. “Tell the others I’ve gone for a nap.”

“But what about…” Rantaro gestures at the blood on Kaito’s sleeve.

“Just keep it between us two for now,” Kaito says. “Please.”

Rantaro supposes it’s only fair since Kaito is also keeping his secret. However, he feels off about keeping this from the group. Lying about a talent is one thing but also lying about health? Rantaro feels itchy as he heads towards the academy.

\---

There’s relief on Kirumi’s face when Rantaro finds her group. He found them on the new floor of the academy in Kiyo’s lab. Apparently, the anthropologist hasn’t left it ever since he’s found it.

“It’s been rather troublesome keeping Ouma occupied,” Kirumi admits. 

The smaller boy is currently being lectured by Kiyo over touching everything in the room. 

“I hope he hasn’t been too much trouble,” Rantaro sympathetically replies. 

“Well,” Kirumi clears her throat. “Shinguji has threatened him multiple times with the threat of tearing out his nerves. I think that actually spooked him a little.”

Rantaro shudders. He doesn’t really want to imagine being on Kiyo’s bad side. He looks over to him and Kokichi. The smaller boy is a fair distance away from Kiyo, who is excitedly examining a long samurai sword. When Kokichi notices Rantaro, he starts to jump up and down.

“Amami is back!” He dives towards Rantaro with a hug that almost knocks Rantaro over. Rantaro returns the hug in a daze, patting the other’s head.

“Are you okay, Ouma?”

“Of course not!” Kokichi sniffles. “I’ve been stuck with all these horrible people and Shinguji is trying to steal my nerves!”

“That’s because he’s been getting on my nerves,” Kiyo cooly responds, putting the sword down. “Amami, it’s nice to see you. Did you find anything interesting?”

“Just Chabashira’s lab,” Rantaro reveals. “I think she will enjoy it in there.”

“Ooh!” Kokichi grins. “Maybe she’ll teach me some aikido so I can defend myself from nerve snatchers!”

Kiyo’s posture turns scary. Kokichi quickly hides himself behind Rantaro. 

“Did Akamatsu and Saihara join up with you?” Rantaro asks, desperately trying to change the topic. 

“Chabashira ended up making Akamatsu join her group,” Kirumi admits. “Saihara is up there, looking through the scrolls.”

Kirumi points upwards and Rantaro spots Shuichi kneeling down next to a scroll, which he reads over quietly. 

“Is he okay?” Rantaro quietly asks. 

“He’s just being emo right now,” Kokichi answers. “He’s all sad because he thinks that it’s his fault that Hoshi got executed.”

“We have tried to explain to him that it wasn’t his fault,” Kirumi explains. “I think he feels guilty that he figured out Hoshi was the culprit so quickly. I don’t think it helps due to the fact Hoshi was so understanding about the whole thing.”

“Well it was either Hoshi or us,” Kiyo says. “And I for one am glad that we all lived.”

“I understand that,” Kirumi says, “but I’m just thinking things through Saihara’s perspective. He was the one who figured out Hoshi was guilty and then found out Hoshi just wanted to find someone who cared about him. Now that Hoshi is dead he can’t really go and find that person.”

“Well,” Kokichi puts his hands behind his head. “It’s not like we can do anything about Hoshi now!”

“Ouma,” Rantaro sighs. 

Kiyo goes back to examining his lab warily whilst keeping an eye on Kokichi, who slowly creeps back towards the golden samurai sword with a barely concealed grin. 

“Did you talk to Harukawa?”

“Hmm?”

Rantaro turns to Kirumi, who seems to be looking at nothing in particular. He notices her cheeks go red momentarily.

“My apologies, that was rude of me.”

“No it wasn’t,” Rantaro responds. “It wasn’t actually anything important really. I think Momota got the wrong end of the stick.”

“I see,” Kirumi hums. “How was Harukawa doing? I’m not sure anyone here has actually spent much time with her.”

“Ah, she seems okay,” Rantaro lies. “I think she’s just...shy.”

“Shy?” Kokichi parrots from across the room. “No way!”

Kirumi easily ignores him. “Might I ask where Momota and Harukawa are? I would’ve presumed that they’d return with you.”

“Momota isn’t feeling well,” Rantaro says, “so he went back to his room for a while. I’m not really sure where Harukawa went.”

Rantaro realises he should be a little worried about that. However, from the sounds of things, he can only presume that she hasn’t gone after Akamatsu yet. 

Kirumi’s eyebrows pinch in worry. “Perhaps I should go and see if he needs any assistance.”

“No!” The word comes out louder than Rantaro wanted it to. He awkwardly clears his throat. “Sorry, it’s just Momota said he didn’t want to bother anyone right now. Besides, I think it’s just a small headache.”

The maid pauses before resuming her normal stance. “If you say so.”

“Wow, Amami really sounded desperate there for a second,” Kokichi points out. “Are you hiding something? Wait, don’t tell me that you killed poor Momota and hid his body?!”

“Of course he didn’t,” Kiyo says. “They weren’t gone for that long. I highly doubt that Amami would even want to kill anyone here.”

“Eh?” Kokichi pouts. “What do you think, Saihara? Amami could’ve totally killed Momota and hidden his body, right!”

Shuichi looks up from the scrolls and blinks owlishly. “Hmm? Probably not.”

“He said probably!”

“Ouma,” Rantaro shakes his head. 

Thankfully, the sliding doors open and Tenko pokes her head in. Her nose scrunches up as she looks around the lab. 

“Tojo, is everyone done here? Angie found another flashback light and wants to use it soon!” Tenko announces. “Also, does Tojo know if Amami found something with his item!”

“I’m right here,” Rantaro weakly says. 

“I think we’re all finished looking around,” Kirumi says. “As for what Amami found, it was your lab.”

Tenko goes from annoyed to excited in a blink of an eye. “My lab! Tenko is glad that she’ll finally have somewhere for all the girls to hang out without being bothered by all the boys! Amami, Tenko trusts that you didn’t go inside my lab without my permission.”

“Uh,” Rantaro sweats, shuffling behind Kirumi ever so slightly. “Yeah, only Harukawa examined it…”

Tenko gives a firm nod of approval. “Good. Once Tenko finds Harukawa she will have to thank her for keeping my lab safe. Now hurry up! We’re all going to meet up in the dining hall so that we can turn it on!”

She stomps away from the room. Rantaro pauses and hesitates. 

“Should I go with everyone else?”

“Whatever do you mean?” Kiyo asks. 

Rantaro frowns. “Last time I used a flashback light I lost memories instead of gaining them. What if I forget something really important if I use one again?”

There’s a thoughtful pause. “I see,” Kirumi says. “If you would like, I’ll happily inform you about what was on the flashback light later on.”

“That would be nice,” Rantaro agrees. “Thank you.”

“It really is no problem,” Kirumi says. She slowly makes her way out of the room. Kiyo, Kokichi and Shuichi follow after her, the smallest boy shooting Rantaro a happy grin before latching himself onto the detective’s arm. 

For a moment, Rantaro feels alone in the anthropologist’s lab. He pulls out all of his tablets and bites his lip. Kaito’s words still ring in his head and he can’t help but understand Kaito’s point. 

If he tells everyone about his talent and maybe even his motive, then there’s a lower chance that everyone will distrust him. Sure, they might be angry that he’s hidden it from them for so long but there might be a chance that everyone will understand. Still, Rantaro feels his nagging anxiety claw at him when he thinks about sharing information with the group. Even though it’s clear that the mastermind knows about him, would it give Rantaro the upper hand to put everything he knows out into the open?


	11. Chapter 11

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry this took so long to post! I really don't like posting chapters if I haven't written the next one beforehand. However, I've been struggling to write for some reason but I also didn't want to not update for ages. I have the next chapter started but not completed yet. 
> 
> This chapter might be the longest chapter yet!!! I have no idea how it got to 12k words. The first couple of chapters had ranged from 6k to 8k. I'm not sure if this chapter has too much rambling in it or not. 
> 
> I'm sorry if any of the characters seem ooc for this chapter in particular. I don't want to spoil anything in the notes but there's one character I'm hoping I haven't gotten too wrong. I'll admit I've rewritten one scene in this chapter quite a few times because I never liked how it turned out. Fingers crossed that people like this chapter lol 
> 
> Thank you for reading and I hope you all enjoy!

Rantaro is in the library when Kirumi finally finds him.

“Are you trying to get the door open?” Kirumi asks, standing next to him. She looks up at the big silver door. “I think by now that it would be impossible to open it.”

“Why is that?” Rantaro asks.

Kirumi delicately pauses. “We’ve had plenty of time to try and open it. It’s clear that you need a card of some sorts to get inside. However, I don’t think any of us will find that card any time soon nor shall any of us admit to having one. It’s clear that only the mastermind would be the only one with access to this room.”

As much as Kirumi’s words hurt, Rantaro reluctantly agrees. “It's just...I really want this game to end.”

“It's clear that we all do,” Kirumi says. “But it would be better if we all work together to end the game. If everyone tries to end the game in their own way like last time, then perhaps another accident may occur.”

Rantaro thinks about Kaede and her shot put ball. He also thinks about Maki and her words. One of them is a pianist and the other an assassin. Why is it that Rantaro wants to trust an assassin over a pianist?

“We turned on the flashback light,” Kirumi informs him. “Everyone understood why you didn’t want to participate.”

“Ah,” Rantaro nods. “Was there anything interesting on it?”

“Well,” Kirumi fidgets with her glove. “Actually, we weren’t entirely sure what to make of what we saw. We were shown a funeral of sorts but...it seemed that it was our funeral.”

“Our...funeral?” Rantaro feels incredibly unsettled. “But that can’t be right!”

“That’s what everyone else thought,” Kirumi explains. “The others even suggested that what we saw was just apart of some school festival we were holding. I’m not sure if they were correct since I’m uncertain that we all went to the same school. It would be a stretch considering that no one knew anyone when we first arrived here.”

“But we can’t be dead,” Rantaro says. He pinches himself and feels a jolt of pain. “There’s no way that we can be!”

Kirumi grimaces and looks to the floor. “Perhaps the flashback light was just Monokuma trying to confuse us. We have to reason no truly believe it either. I’m sorry if I have distressed you.”

Rantaro helplessly shakes his head. “It’s fine. I was just...not expecting that of all things.”

“I don’t think anyone was prepared for that,” Kirumi agrees. “For now I don’t think anyone is taking it too seriously so I don’t think you need to either.”

“I guess so,” Rantaro trails off, holding himself. 

“May I suggest perhaps leaving the library for now,” Kirumi says. “I’m not sure what more you could do to open the door. It’s clear that you need a key of some sort to get inside.”

Rantaro wistfully looks at the door. It’s so mocking to just have it right in front of him but also having no way of opening it. The mastermind is probably laughing at all his failed attempts to get inside. It’s frustrating not being able to get inside and to expose the mastermind. They’ve already taken away three people in the group. Rantaro won’t let them take away anymore. 

“If you need a distraction,” Kirumi suggests. “I think Chabashira is gathering people to sort out the gym. Whilst everything has been prepared for the magic show, she wants to make sure that the gym is perfect for Yumeno.”

“That does sound like a good distraction,” Rantaro agrees, albeit a little hesitantly. “But wouldn’t she prefer it if I wasn't there?”

“For now I don’t think she minds too much,” Kirumi says. “After what happened yesterday, I think everyone would rather be with someone else for now. Whilst Chabashira clearly has a distaste for boys, I’m certain that she would not turn you away.”

“I suppose so,” Rantaro says. “But Tojo? What will you be doing?”

“I shall be preparing lunch for everyone,” Kirumi instantly responds. “I find comfort in cooking so I thought I would be nice if I was able to make a nice meal for everyone to enjoy. A hot meal can do wonders when someone is upset.”

“Just make sure you don’t overwork yourself,” Rantaro says. “You’ve already done so much for everyone here.”

“I appreciate your concerns but I’ll be fine,” Kirumi softly smiles. “I have been doing this for years now. Now, if you would excuse me.”

The maid heads out of the library without a sound. Rantaro gives the secret door one last look before sighing and closing the bookshelf and heading upstairs himself.

\---

What was supposed to be a quick visit to his room turned into something more...problematic rather quickly.

“But Amami!” Kokichi whines. “I really want to see Momota!”

“And he doesn’t want to see you,” Maki responds. She’s currently behind Kaito’s bedroom door and almost has it closed. However, Kokichi’s foot is stuck in between the door and no matter how many times Maki slams the door on it, Kokichi has decided that he doesn’t want to move it. 

Rantaro tries to gently tug on Kokichi’s shoulder. “Come on, you can see Momota later.”

“But I want to see him now!”

“Stop being so awkward,” Maki hisses. She pulls on the door again and even Rantaro winces when at the sound of the door whacking into Kokichi’s foot again. “He doesn’t want to see anyone right now.”

“So why are you in his room?” Kokichi questions. His face goes blank before a large sneer appears on it. “Ooh, I get it. Harukawa and Momota are in love!”

“What was that?” Maki’s face goes dark. 

“Ouma,” Rantaro starts to feel desperate. Trust Kokichi to try and start a fight with a professional assassin. “Let’s go. Now.”

Kokichi pushes his foot into the room further. “But Amami! Today was the day I was going to finally confess my undying love to Momota!”

“What did he just say?” Kaito’s voice calls from inside the room, sounding a little more than off. 

“Nothing,” Maki scowls. “I’m giving you three seconds to move your foot.”

“Or what?” Kokichi challenges. 

“One.”

“Ouma,” Rantaro pleads. “Let’s just go.”

“But I really want to see Momota!”

“Two.”

“But why right now?” Rantaro sighs. “You’re just going to annoy him. Besides, Harukawa is with him right now. If you really want to see him, you can see him later.”

“But Amami!” Kokichi’s voice gets higher.

“Three.”

Rantaro spots Maki’s eyes turn a dangerous red. She opens the door a little more and Rantaro plucks Kokichi up just before Maki slams the door shut harshly. He hears the sound of a faint clicking noise and can only presume that she has now locked them both out. 

“Wow! Amami saved me!” Kokichi declares.

With a sigh, Rantaro places Kokichi back onto the floor. “You really need to stop pushing people. One day you’re really going to upset the wrong person.”

“I doubt anyone here could really hurt me,” Kokichi grins. “Honestly, you worry too much!”

“And you don’t worry enough,” Rantaro points out. He shakes his head. “Come on, you’re coming with me to the gym. Someone has to keep you out of trouble.”

“We’re going to the gym?” Kokichi asks. “But isn’t that where Chabashira is? Wait, is it that Amami really wants to see me get beaten up? Wow! I didn’t realise that Amami was such a big meanie!”

“She won’t beat you up,” Rantaro insists, although he can’t help but feel that she won’t hesitate to threaten Kokichi with her aikido if he starts annoying everyone too much. He puts his hands firmly onto Kokichi’s shoulders and steers him away from Katio’s room and out of the dormitories. 

Kokichi pouts. “Fine! I guess we’re going to help set up a boring magic show! I thought that everything had already been sorted out?”

“It has,” Rantaro says. “But Chabashira just wants to make sure that everything is okay. Also since Angie’s lab has been opened she’ll probably want to make more decorations for the magic show.”

“Wait a minute!” Kokichi knocks away Rantaro’s hands. “You haven’t seen all of the new floor yet! Come on!”

“W-Wait a minute!” Rantaro is tugged forwards when Kokichi holds onto his hand and starts to pull him up the stairs one by one. He stumbles on a few but Kokichi doesn’t seem to either notice or care as he drags him up to the new floor. Rantaro has to admit that despite being small, Kokichi is actually rather fast.

“Tada!” Kokichi waves his hands around. “The floor is actually really creepy but if you think about it, it suits Shinguji and Angie just fine! They’re both really super creepy too! Especially Angie right now.”

Really, Rantaro should scold Kokichi but at this point he figures that it would be useless to try and talk any sense into the boy. He clearly doesn’t have a filter and doesn’t care what people think about what he says, even when he does say some mean things. 

The smaller boy drags him past Kiyo’s lab and towards Angie’s lab. When Rantaro arrives, he quickly learns that the lab has two doors instead of the usual one. 

“It’s because Angie likes her privacy or something,” Kokichi explains. “I wasn’t actually listening when she was talking. But! Her lab does seem pretty cool I guess! Look at all these paints!”

“There does seem to be a big collection,” Rantaro says.

Kokichi jumps up and down. “Right! That’s what I was going to say! But get this! It turns out that by some huge coincidence, they managed to get the exact same paints that Angie uses! Not only that, but they’ve actually supplied her with all of her favourite art supplies! Angie must be super duper lucky to have everything that she really likes here! Although, she does claim that it was her Atua or whoever that gave her all of this stuff. What do you think, Amami?”

“What do you mean?”

“Well,” Kokichi puts a finger to his lips. “We all turn up to this school that’s got everything we could possibly want in it. We’ve got a nice place to stay, food, shelter and even labs to practice our talents in! What’s better is that our labs are suited to our exact needs! Doesn’t that seem a little strange to you?”

Rantaro thinks. The small boy may have a point. Luck would be receiving all of your favourite paints in your lab but nothing else. To have all of your exact favourite art supplies would be considered a little more than coincidental.

“And Shinguji’s lab,” Kokichi continues. “The stuff in there was apparently really rare and not only that, he was also studying everything that was in his room! What a crazy coincidence, right?”

“Ouma, I’m not sure I understand,” Rantaro reluctantly admits. “What are you getting at?”

“Well maybe I won’t explain it to you if you’re not smart enough to figure it out for yourself,” Kokichi teases. “Honestly, Amami. I thought you were smart.”

Rantaro defensively crosses his arms. “I’m trying to figure it out, okay?”

“Okay!”

Rantaro continues to look around the spacious lab. The ceiling looks like it’s missing and the room is full of art supplies. Not only that but both doors have locks on them. If he thinks about it, everyone’s labs have been designed specifically for them. Kaede’s lab is simple but has a piano inside and is full of music. Miu’s lab is rather unique and is full of scrap so that the inventor can create anything. Gonta’s lab is full of bugs that he would’ve been able to take care of. Ryoma’s lab is full of tennis gear whilst his bathroom had been to make him remember his criminal past. Kirumi’s lab has a Victorian feel to it, which suits the maid. Rantaro doesn’t know what’s in Maki’s lab but he can only guess it suits her too. 

“Are you suggesting,” Rantaro says slowly. “That these labs were specifically designed for us?”

“Well duh,” Kokichi shakes his head. “But I think you’re missing the point. The labs were made for us but don’t you think it’s strange how Monokuma knows what are favourite things are? How did he know Angie’s favourite supplies? Or how did he know that Tojo really likes things to do with the Victorians? I highly doubt that they told him all of that.”

“That’s…” Rantaro stops. 

“Don’t you think it’s a little strange how everything was perfectly made up for us here?” Kokichi continues. “Like how our dorm rooms already had pictures of ourselves above the doors?”

“It’s like they were expecting us,” Rantaro realises.

“Bingo!” Kokichi cheers. “Well, Amami! What do you think about all of this?”

Strange. Amami wants to say that their circumstances are strange. He wants to know how he got his talent as the Ultimate Survivor and he wants to understand why he was given his survivor perk. He wants to know what really is going on around here and why they all have to participate in some stupid killing game. 

He wants to know why there even is a killing game in the first place. 

“Wow, I hope I didn’t make Amami have some sort of crisis!” Kokichi stands in front of Rantaro with both of his hands behind his back. He blinks up at the taller boy innocently. “Don’t think too much about it, Amami! It could all just be one big coincidence after all!”

Rantaro wants to argue but Kokichi is already leaving the lab, skipping out of the room. Rantaro quickly follows him and Kokichi leads him down a long hallway and jumps over a pile of glass. They walk through a room full of broken televisions and Rantaro is surprised at the sudden change of decor. 

This room has a giant computer inside. The room definitely has a sci-fi look to it. Rantaro wonders if Kiibo would’ve liked it here. 

“It doesn’t work right now!” Kokichi complains, lightly kicking the computer. “And Iruma claimed she had no idea how to fix it! Honestly, she’s been so useless lately! I tried to talk to her a while back and she just kicked me out of her lab! She’s so mean!”

“Maybe you were annoying her,” Rantaro suggests. “You do tend to rub people off the wrong way.”

“Amami?” Kokichi gasps. “Are you suggesting that I purposely annoy everyone here?”

“You don’t really make an effort to be nice to people,” Rantaro says. 

“I’m being nice to you!” Kokichi points out. 

Rantaro rolls his eyes. “Okay, you got me there.”

“Phew! For a second there I thought you really had turned into a big bully!” Kokichi starts to sniffle. “And that would’ve been horrible because then I’d really have no friends!”

“You think of me as a friend?” Rantaro asks in surprise.

Kokichi starts to grin. “Nope, I was just teasing you! You should’ve seen the look on your face! I know you’re really disappointed that you’ll never be my friend but maybe if you work hard enough then maybe I’ll decide to acknowledge you one day!”

“Whatever you say,” Rantaro smiles.

“Eh? You’re just going to accept it?” Kokichi asks. “Man, you’re boring! And so is this room! There’s somewhere else you haven’t seen!”

Kokichi drags him to the last place that they haven’t explored. There are three empty rooms that look identical to one another. Kokichi enters the middle room and starts to spin around. 

“I really have no idea why these rooms exist,” Kokichi says. “But you know, maybe they’ll have some use later. I could see someone getting killed inside one of these rooms! Don’t you agree, Amami? Do you think that someone will be killed in here?”

“I hope not,” Rantaro frowns. “You shouldn’t think like that. We don’t want more people to die.”

“Of course, of course,” Kokicih shrugs. “We should just lock all potential killers into a room and throw away the key! That would make things so much easier!”

“Ouma,” Rantaro says. “As horrible as this sounds, everyone could be considered a potential killer here.”

“Wow, you really don’t trust anyone here, do you?” Kokichi says. He grins. “Don’t worry! We’ll just lock away the really dangerous people! Like Akamatsu!”

Rantaro doesn’t respond, Maki’s words echoing in his head.

“Woah, has Amami finally snapped?” Kokichi gasps. “You’re not trying to defend her!”

“I shouldn’t have to,” Rantaro snaps. “It’s just...nevermind.”

“But now I really want to know what you’re thinking!” Kokichi starts to complain. “Is Amami going to start an uprising against Akamatsu? Can I join?”

“Ouma, why do you not like Akamatsu?”

“Hmm? That’s a little strange to ask, isn’t it?”

“I just,” Rantaro shakes his head, “would like to know.”

“Well for starters,” Kokichi says, “she tried to kill my beloved Amami! That is so unforgivable! I hate murderers and I hate people who try and hide the fact that they tried to murder someone too! I bet she wasn’t even going to tell you until Monokuma forced it out of her. People like Akamatsu are the ones you need to look out for. You really don’t know what those people are capable of.”

“But she apologised,” Rantaro points out. “And we all know that she was going for the mastermind.”

“Does it really matter that she was going for the mastermind?” Kokichi hums. “A killer is a killer. Is Akamatsu really all that heroic because she tried to kill the mastermind? Both you and Saihara were going to try and expose the mastermind. Akamatsu thought it was better to try and drop a shot put ball on your head. It’s unforgivable.”

Rantaro reels back. He’s never heard Kokichi sound so serious. The smaller boy blinks at him before smiling. 

“But you know, maybe she did have the right idea! Who knows? Maybe I’m actually super in love with Akamatsu and I’m just trying to hide it! She does have this certain appeal to her, doesn’t she! Perhaps in another life she was some sort of protagonist or something?”

“Ouma, are you-”

“Come on, Amami! Why did you insist on coming up here in the first place?” Kokichi walks past him. “Is it that you like to waste time?”

Rantaro sighs and moves to follow Kokichi when the smaller boy starts to wobble. He reaches out for the wall for balance.

“Is everything okay, Ouma?”

“Everything is just peachy!” Kokichi smiles at him. He leans down to rub his ankle. “I was just messing around!”

Rantaro easily sees through his lie. “Ouma, sit down.”

“But I just said I was fiiine!” Even as he says this, Kokichi slides down onto the floor and goes as far to take a shoe off. 

Rantaro kneels next to his leg and gently starts to examine it. Kokichi’s ankle is covered in an explosion of bruises. Some of them are a deep purple whilst some have a more blue colour of them. 

“Harukawa did this to you when you were trying to get into Momota’s room,” Rantaro realises. “Ouma, why didn’t you say anything?”

“Because it doesn’t even hurt!” Kokichi pouts. “Amami is just making a big fuss over nothing! I was just trying to trick you!”

“Ouma, you’re hurt,” Rantaro says. He looks at the boy and sighs before crouching down. “Get on my back.”

“Eh? Are you trying to tell me that you’re the Ultimate Horse?” Kokichi asks as he doesn’t hesitate to scramble onto Rantaro’s back, looping his arms around his neck. “Actually, perhaps you are the Ultimate Donkey? No, that’s not right either! You’ve been bullying me all morning! You’re probably the Ultimate Ass!”

“Whatever you say,” Rantaro smiles to himself as he walks out of the room. He doesn’t mention his surprise to Kokichi about how light he is, not wanting to embarrass the smaller boy. 

\---

Kokichi starts complaining the moment Rantaro wraps the icy cloth around Kokichi’s foot. He had dropped the boy off at the gym and had gone to the kitchen to grab some ice and a cloth. Kirumi happily helped him find what he was looking for before going back to cooking.

“It’s cold!” Kokichi tries to pull his foot away.

“It will help!” Tenko retorts. She frowns down at the boy’s foot. “How did you even manage to hurt your foot this bad anyway? Trust a nasty boy like you to get hurt like this.”

“I-It wasn’t m-my fault!” Kokichi starts to sob. “I thought we were all going to be nice to each other from now o-on!”

Rantaro gently holds onto the boy’s foot. “You need to stay still. Chabashira knows what she’s on about.”

“Fine!”

Helping Kokichi is a lot easier when the boy decides to cooperate. He’s currently leaning next to the stage on the floor. There’s a green cushion under his foot which is now finally wrapped in a cold cloth and ice. Kokichi wiggles his foot before letting out a loud sigh. He’s probably really bored. 

“There, I’m finished,” Rantaro says, leaning away to admire his handiwork. 

“But how did Ouma manage to hurt his foot this badly in the first place?” Tsumugi asks. “He couldn’t have gotten those bruises from nowhere!”

“I was viciously attacked!” Kokichi reveals dramatically. “By a door! It kept hitting me over and over! I couldn’t do anything to stop it!”

“You were injured by a door?” Himiko shakes her head. “You really are weak.”

“Take that back!” Kokichi cries. No one can stop the tears that roll down his cheeks. He lets out a couple of high pitched cries before seemingly giving up. He sighs heavily and lifts his injured foot up from the cushion and drops it back down onto the floor. 

“Stop that,” Rantaro frowns. “You’re going to hurt yourself.”

“But I’m already hurt!” Kokichi states. “And now I’m really bored! Entertain me, peasants!”

“Tenko is going to ignore him for now,” Tenko says. “Now that you’re here, Amami, you can help by cleaning up the gym! It’s gotten dusty because we haven’t been in it a while and Tenko refuses to let something as small as dust ruin Yumeno’s magic show!”

“There’s a broom in the corner,” Tsumugi helpfully supplies, pointing at the lone broom that has been propped up against the wall. 

Rantaro wordlessly picks up the broom and starts to sweep the floor. He’s surprised about how much dust has gathered despite them only being here a couple of days ago. He gathers all of the dust up and slowly starts to make a pile in the corner of the room. He can’t help but listen to different conversations whilst he busies himself. 

“Tenko believes Yumeno’s show is going to be great!”

“Nyeh,” Himiko flops next to the large container full of water. “I’m not sure if I have enough mana to do it…”

“Don’t worry!” Tenko doesn’t miss a beat. “Tenko will give you some of hers!”

“Okay then.” Himiko opens up her arms.

Tenko starts to flush. “Y-Yumeno, what are you doing?”

“I’m getting your mana,” Himiko says. “You’ve gotta get closer than that. I can’t be bothered to reach your mana from all the way from other there.”

“Of course!” Tenko takes a few flustered steps forwards so that she’s closer to Himiko. When the magician frowns at her, she takes a few more steps so that her legs hit against the stage.

Himiko nods. “That’s perfect.”

The small girl gives Tenko no warning before throwing her arms around her. Tenko lets out a small yell and promptly starts to tremble, her face turning redder and redder. Himiko sighs as she rests her head on Tenko’s shoulder.

“You have to stay here for…” Himiko yawns. “For a couple of hours. It’s a really long transferal spell. If you move, it won’t work.”

“O-Of course, Yumeno!”

“Uh,” Tsumugi, who has been stood nearby, smiles in amusement. “I think Yumeno just wants to take a nap on you, Chabashira.”

“T-That’s nonsense!” Tenko shakes her head. “I’m giving her my mana! That’s all!”

“Quit moving,” Himiko’s voice sounds muffled. 

“Sorry, Yumeno!”

Rantaro quickly moves on before Tenko notices him watching. He makes another pile of dust and continues cleaning, making sure to avoid the stage.

As if a miracle, Kokichi remains quiet enough for Himiko to nap. 

“Shirogane,” Rantaro says.

Tsumugi jumps before letting out a surprised laugh. “Ah, sorry! You surprised me! Is there something wrong, Amami?”

“Where’s Angie?” he asks. “I thought that she of all people would be here to help?”

“Angie went back to her lab to create something top secret,” Tsumugi reveals. “She didn’t actually tell any of us what she was doing before leaving. I think Chabashira is a little upset with her at the moment. She really wants Yumeno’s show to be perfect.”

“I think Angie is just excited that her lab opened up,” Rantaro says.

“Maybe,” Tsumugi responds. She sounds a little disappointed.

“What’s wrong?”

“I really wanted to find my lab,” Tsumugi admits. “I have so many new ideas that I want to create. Oh well…”

Rantaro smiles tightly. He wonders if Tsumugi realises that in order for her to have a chance of finding her lab, someone will have to die. He quickly sweeps past her and continues to make piles of dust for the rest of the day. 

\---

Rantaro is getting ready for bed when someone knocks on his door. He stops sorting his bed out to answer the door. He’s more than surprised when he sees Maki standing by his door. He’s even more surprised to see the state she is in.

“Don’t say a word,” Maki grumbles.

“Uh…”

Maki is currently missing one of her pigtails. Rantaro notices that it has been rather terribly cut. Her hair is rather choppy due to the missing hair.

“That little brat,” Maki seethes before taking a deep breath. “I guess I did deserve it.”

Rantaro can only guess that Kokichi had something to do with this. He’s just not sure whether or not to act sympathetic towards the assassin or not. She reaches to play with her hair only to realise that it’s missing. Her face screws up in defeat.

“I can sort that out for you if you want,” Rantaro says, gesturing at her hair. 

“That’s...one of the reasons why I came here,” she admits quietly.

“If you want to come into my room then-”

“No,” Maki shakes her head. “Follow me.”

Rantaro hastily locks his door and follows Maki towards the dormitory doors. He’s surprised when he spots Angie near the doors herself.

“Yoohoo! And why are the two of you out of bed?” Angie asks, her eyes shining. “And what has Maki done to her hair? Atua thinks it’s rather strange.”

Maki glares. Rantaro quickly clears his throat. “We’re just going out for a little while, that’s all.”

“That’s funny,” Angie says. “Kaito said the same thing! He too is outside right now with Kaede and Shuichi!”

“He is? That idiot knows that he shouldn’t be out of bed.” Maki pauses before hiding her face in her hands. “This isn’t what I wanted.”

Rantaro smiles tightly at Angie. “We really need to get going now.”

“I see,” Angie says. “Well, I guess it’s okay for tonight! Just don’t make it a habit of leaving your rooms too often during the night! Atua can’t protect you if Angie isn’t around!”

The artist hops to her room, her yellow raincoat bouncing cheerfully behind her. 

“I don’t want him to see me,” Maki says quietly.

“Just tell me where we’re heading and I’ll keep you hidden,” Rantaro says.

Maki takes a deep breath before nodding. “Go towards the academy. We’re going somewhere inside there.”

Rantaro nods and makes sure the girl is securely behind him before opening the dormitory doors. He can feel Maki’s weight pressing into him from behind as she tries to hide behind the taller male. When the group of three spot him, Rantaro can only let out an awkward smile as he darts towards the academy, Maki quickly following him and making sure that his body keeps her hidden. She slips into the academy as soon as they get up the stairs and Rantaro follows. 

“Thank you,” she mumbles, hiding her face away. 

She starts to lead him up the stairs and for a moment, Rantaro shudders. Gonta had died falling down these steps. His grip on the bannister gets a little tighter. Maki has no problem walking up the steps and she continues to soldier on past Gonta’s lab. Rantaro starts to slow down when he finally realises where she’s taking him. 

“Are we going to your lab?” he asks weakly.

Maki turns around, her hair stiffly swishing around her shoulders at one part and her longer remaining pigtail hitting into her back. “I’m not going to kill you if that’s what you’re worried about.”

Rantaro winces at her blunt wording. “Um...”

Maki gives him one last hard look before opening her lab door for him and quickly pushing him inside. He stumbles as he tries to regain his balance. Maki doesn’t look too apologetic as she closes the door behind him. 

“Just in case someone was following us,” she mutters.

Rantaro thankfully manages to balance himself and once he does, gets a good view of her lab. It’s filled to the brim full of weapons. There’s guns lining the walls on one side of the room. A table sits near the corner with a couple of black bags on top of it. Nearer the middle of the room is a display that shows a red cloak with a hood that presents itself proudly. Rantaro looks at the room with wide eyes. 

“Holy shit.”

“Can you hurry up and sort my hair out?” Maki asks, uncomfortably fiddling with her only ponytail. She gestures to a pair of scissors that are on the table. 

“A-Ah, yeah.” Rantaro picks them up and kneels on the floor behind Maki, who herself has curled up on the floor, her arms wrapped around her legs and her face tucked in. 

She freezes when she feels him pick up her remaining ponytail. “Just...don’t make my hair too short.”

“Okay,” Rantaro says. He lines the scissors up as well as he can before he starts snipping, brown hair fluttering to the floor piece by piece. Rantaro takes out both of Maki’s red scrunchies. “Why did you come to me for help anyway?”

“You have sisters, correct?” Maki says. “Someone mentioned that you did. You must’ve helped them cut their hair at least?”

“Ah, that’s right,” Rantaro smiles fondly. Despite having access to all of the best hairdressers around, Rantaro’s sisters always asked him to do their hair for them. He spent years learning how to cut their hair that matched their preferences and even learnt how to paint their nails for them. Perhaps he doesn’t look like it but he’s actually really good when it comes to beauty. He cuts another piece of Maki’s hair. 

“There was also something else I wanted to talk to you about,” Maki admits. “Well, I wanted to talk to you about it before Ouma decided to hack off half of my hair.”

Rantaro doesn’t mention that he’s surprised that Kokichi was able to cut her hair in the first place. The boy’s foot should still be healing. Rantaro shakes his head. He doesn’t want to keep reminding Kokichi that his injury will only get worse if he keeps running around. 

He hums as another piece of hair falls to the floor.

“Actually,” Maki says, “there’s a few things I want to say.”

“Go ahead,” Rantaro offers. “We’ve got all night.”

“Right,” Maki clears her throat. It’s obvious she’s unsure right now. Rantaro thinks that she isn’t really used to talking to other people. “But let it be clear I’m only...choosing to trust you right now because we’re in the same boat. If you so much as think about screwing me over I won’t hesitate to expose you.”

Rantaro stops cutting for just a moment before starting again. “I think the same would apply to you too.”

For a moment, Rantaro thinks he has annoyed Maki. She rolls her shoulders.

“I didn’t think that you actually had a backbone,” Maki admits.

Rantaro shrugs. “I know when to stand my ground.”

“Right,” Maki says slowly. She clears her throat. “I spent most of the day with Momota and not once did he not shut up about our talents. For someone who is really sick, he’s really pushy.”

“Is he feeling any better?” Rantaro asks. 

“I don’t know,” Maki says. “I swear I saw him cough up blood but he insisted he didn’t. He’s such an idiot. When I called him out on it he just said I was seeing things. He’s stupid to think he can hide things from an assassin.”

“Do you think there’s something really wrong with him?”

Maki shrugs lightly. “I’m not sure yet but he can’t be okay if he’s hacking up blood. The idiot told me that he just had a cold. Does he think I’m a fool?”

“He told me the same thing,” Rantaro says, continuing to snip away at Maki’s hair carefully. 

“Idiot,” Maki murmurs. “He thought it was acceptable to lecture me for hours about hiding my talent. I only nodded along with him because that’s the only way to get idiots like him to just shut up quicker. Deep down he must know that it’s a dumb idea to tell everyone.”

“But?”

“But,” Maki sighs. “I don’t want to say that’s he’s right…”

Rantaro pauses, a piece of hair in between the scissors. He snips down and it flutters to the floor. “Do you think that we should tell everyone about our talents?”

“I don’t want to,” Maki says. “But I also don’t want Monokuma telling the group himself or someone finding out by accident. I don’t really trust many people here but if they find out I’m an assassin from anyone else but me, I think then the group really wouldn’t want me around…”

He wipes away some loose hairs on his trousers. “How did you feel about me finding out about your talent?”

Maki wavers momentarily. “I didn’t want you to know. Momota kept insisting that I tell you because then we could tell everyone that we’d been lying together. Don’t get me wrong, I’m not a coward but his idea was stupid. He must know that no one wants to be around an assassin.”

“Well,” Rantaro says. “I’m with you right now. Doesn’t that mean something?”

She doesn’t respond.

“But,” Rantaro continues. “Maybe Momota is right about something. I’m going to believe in you...well maybe hope that you don’t kill me in my sleep or something.”

“Aren’t you scared of me?” Maki suddenly asks.

“Absolutely terrified,” Rantaro says with a smile. “But there’s nothing I can do about you being here.”

Maki pouts. “So you don’t want me here…”

“It’s not that,” Rantaro responds. “How do I put this? Of course I was surprised finding out that you are an assassin. However, it would also be pretty stupid of me to try and antagonise you. So far you haven’t done anything to harm anyone so I can’t exactly hate you for no reason.”

“I’ve killed before,” Maki says. “Doesn’t that bother you? I kill people for a living without mercy. I’m capable of taking out everyone in this academy if I wanted to.”

“You could,” Rantaro agrees, ignoring his hands that start to shake. “But you haven’t. I think that means something.”

“You’ve got really low standards,” Maki points out.

Rantaro swallows. “Right now, the mastermind is my biggest concern. I don’t really care what your talent is as long as you’re not the one behind this killing game.”

Maki pauses. “You want everyone to leave together, right? Wouldn’t I get in the way of that?”

“Unless you kill someone,” Rantaro says. “Then no.” 

Maki pushes her face into her leg. “You’re really stupid.”

“What was that?”

“Nothing,” Maki sighs. “I just can’t believe this academy is full of idiots.”

“H-Hey, wait a second-”

“Why did you lie about your talent anyway?”

“Huh?”

“Your video said you were the Ultimate Survivor,” Maki says. “I don’t see why you’d want to hide your talent.”

“It’s...difficult to explain,” Rantaro admits. He’s almost finished cutting her hair. 

“Why?”

Rantaro runs a hand through her shorter brown hair to straighten it out. “Because.”

“It’s not fair that you get to analyse me but not talk about yourself,” Maki mutters. “You’re as stupid as Momota.”

Rantaro ignores the insult. “I find it...difficult to trust people.”

“So do I,” Maki huffs. “Yet here I am. We’ve already trusted each other with our talents.”

“It’s not like we had a choice,” Rantaro stresses. “It’s just rather irritating that we were given the wrong videos.”

“So you wouldn’t have told everyone about your talent if it wasn’t for the videos?” Maki asks.

Rantaro stops and then sighs. “I don’t know…”

“Geez,” Maki huffs. “I didn't know you were the type to worry so much.”

“Well, we are in a killing game,” Rantaro responds. “Of course I’m going to worry. We've got to be on guard in case Monokuma gives us another motive.”

“He'll probably give us one tomorrow,” Maki points out. “He wants us all to kill each other sooner than later. He’d get bored if we just sat around everyday.”

“You’re probably right.”

“It doesn’t mean I want to be.”

Rantaro soon finishes her hair, running his fingers through it one more time to check if it’s even. When he is satisfied, he places the scissors back on the table to signal that he’s finished. Maki quickly reaches up to feel her hair herself, her hand pausing when she realises the length of the hair.

“S-Sorry,” Rantaro panics. “I tried to make it as long as possible and-”

“Be quiet,” Maki says. “It’s fine. Thank you.”

“Oh.” Rantaro feels relief surge through him. It’s a good thing that he didn’t upset her. Rantaro doesn’t want to figure out who long his title would help him against an assassin. 

Maki picks up her two scrunchies and puts them on a wrist each. “I guess it was getting too long anyway. Still, I should teach that brat a lesson.”

“I think you already have,” Rantaro says. “You really hurt his foot when you kept hitting it with Momota’s bedroom door.”

When she can’t pull at her hair, Maki’s hands curl up in front of her instead as if she was trying to grab the air. She thinks for a moment but never responds on the matter.

“So,” Rantaro looks around the room. “This is why you haven’t let anyone in your lab.”

“Obviously.” Maki raises an eyebrow. “Anyone would figure out I’m lying by just taking a step in here. Besides, if everyone knew about the weapons in here then everyone could easily start to kill each other.”

“Ah.” Rantaro peers at the guns that are lined against the walls. He’s sure that he would be able to use one of them. However, there are a few weapons around the room that he doubts he would be able to work, such as the crossbows. Even though, he doesn’t feel any temptation whilst being in here. The weapons intimidate him. “Shouldn’t you try and get a lock on this door?”

“I’ve been guarding it,” Maki says. “That’s enough.”

“But you can’t be here all the time,” Rantaro points out. “One day someone might sneak in while you’re away.” Rantaro knows if Kokichi had the chance he’d definitely try to break in.

“I said,” Maki glares, “I’ve been guarding it. Do you want to die?”

“No, not really.”

For a second, Maki looks bewildered. Rantaro feels bewildered. Why the hell did he respond like that? 

“Sorry,” Maki finally says. “I say that naturally. But it’s good, that you don’t want to die I mean. Only the strong can survive here.”

“Everyone here wants to live,” Rantaro says.

“Sometimes,” Maki says, “it’s a bad thing to want to live too much.”

Honestly, Rantaro never thought about it like that. He supposes if Monokuma gives a really tempting motive then someone might just try and kill someone else. Is it a bad thing to be too optimistic in this place? No, that can’t be right. The most optimistic person here is probably Kaito and Rantaro could never see him killing someone. 

He changes the topic. “So about our talents,” he says. “Are we just going to keep it between the two of us for now?”

“For now,” Maki agrees. “Unless we’re put into a position where we need to tell everyone…”

“Hopefully that will never happen,” Rantaro murmurs. 

“Right.”

There’s an awkward silence. “Should I head back to my room?”

“No,” Maki says. “Stay here for the night. The mastermind may still be after you, correct? This will be the last place they’d look for you.”

“Probably,” Rantaro says. “Uh, thanks.”

“Don’t make it awkward,” Maki mutters. 

He doesn’t plan on making it awkward. Well, that’s what he wanted until he hears knocking at the lab door. He freezes up at the same time Maki shoots an icy glare over at the door.

“Be quiet,” she whispers. 

He does. Then, the knocking gets more erratic. Rantaro quickly recognises the knocking.

“I think it’s Momota,” he lowly says.

Maki sighs. “Of course it’s Momota.”

She heads towards the door and opens it enough that only her head pops out. Rantaro can hear the two of them quietly talk together before the assassin sighs loudly and opens the door open for Kaito to step inside. The astronaut waves at him as Maki closes the door grumpily. 

“Hey!” Kaito excitedly says. “Did you cut Maki’s hair?”

“Yeah, I did,” Rantaro smiles but feels fear when Maki glares at him. He looks away, whistling.

“Well, it suits you,” Kaito says to Maki. 

Her face turns red, although Rantaro can’t tell if it’s from embarrassment or from anger. “Aren’t you supposed to be resting? You’re sick.”

“No I’m not,” Kaito easily replies. “Besides, I had to look after my sidekicks! It’s a heroes job to help them when they’re down. Their worries are my worries!”

“I don’t care,” Maki says.

Kaito deflates. “Are you upset that I was with Kaede? I know that you don’t like her but hasn’t this thing between the two of you gone on long enough?”

“Have you even been listening to anything that I’ve been saying?” Maki hisses. “She has to be the mastermind and yet you’re acting like she’s this helpless child.”

“If she is the mastermind,” Kaito says, raising an eyebrow, “then why haven’t you done anything about it?”

Rantaro takes a step back.

Maki turns her head. “What was that?”

“Well, you’re an assassin,” Kaito says. “If you really thought she was a threat, wouldn’t you have done something by now?”

“That’s because,” Maki responds, “I haven’t had the right opportunity yet.”

“Or,” Kaito continues, “you don’t have any proof that she’s the mastermind! Honestly, Maki. We all need to stay united right now. I think that you and Kaede should just talk things through. You’re both girls, right? Isn’t that what girls do? Talk or gossip or whatever.”

“I won’t talk to her,” Maki says. “I won’t let her manipulate me like she has done to you.”

“Come on, Maki,” Kaito runs a hand down his face. He looks exhausted. “Seriously, you have no proof that she’s the one behind all of this! Kaede wants to end the killing game as much as you do. If you just try and talk to her-”

“Amami,” Maki spins around to look at him. “You agree with me, right? Akamatsu is suspicious.”

“Hey, don’t bring him into this-”

“I, uh, well maybe she-” Rantaro tries to talk.

“Amami, seriously?” Kaito blinks. “Come on! You should know that we can’t turn on each other like this!”

“We won’t have to turn on each other if we expose the mastermind now,” Maki points out. “We don’t have enough time to sit around either.”

“Hey, what’s that supposed to mean?” Kaito asks, following Maki as she heads towards her door. 

“You’re sick,” Maki says, “and if we waste anymore time stuck in this school then you’re just going to get worse.”

“I’m fine!” Kaito yells. “Just stop worrying about me, okay! Let's all just calm down and tal-”

“I am calm,” Maki says. “And I’m going to sort out the mastermind.”

“You don’t know who the mastermind is!”

“Yes I do.”

“Kaede is innocent! Maki, just sit down and-”

Kaito pulls Maki away from the door. There’s a high chance that she wasn’t expecting this as she stumbles backwards, tripping over her feet. Rantaro jumps forwards to help stable her but the two end up falling into a heap on the floor and Rantaro feels the air leave his body as Maki accidentally elbows his stomach. 

She looks concerned for a split second before she notices all the tablets that have fallen from Rantaro’s pockets. Panic washes over him as he weakly reaches over to grab them but he’s too slow.

Maki picks all of his tablets up with a frown, ignoring the motive videos and his monopad.

“Harukawa, please-”

“Survivor’s Perk?” Maki reads out loud.

“Huh?” Kaito crosses his arms. “What’s that, Amami?”

“It’s really nothing important,” Rantaro says, scrambling up and attempting to grab the tablet from Maki’s hands.

She easily dodges him and his second attempt to grab her. She continues to go through the tablet and Rantaro can feel his soul leave his body. This wasn’t how tonight was supposed to go. No one was supposed to find out about his Survivor’s Perk. All Rantaro can think about is how everything is a mess and no he’s probably annoyed a professional assassin and he’s probably going to get killed and his body is never going to be found because Maki probably knows what she’s doing and no one is going to miss him because he’s a filthy liar and then he can’t help everyone leave because he’s horrible and he’s slow and he’s too late and and and and and and-

“H-Hey!” Kaito firmly grips Rantaro’s shoulders, shaking him a little. “Calm down!”

Rantaro wants to ask how to hell can he be calm right now, an assassin is moments away from shooting him on the spot. 

Maki frowns at the tablet. “When did you get this?”

He doesn’t respond. He can’t. His tongue is too heavy and his lungs are burning and his thoughts are swirling and swirling into one big mess. 

Kaito puts an arm around his shoulder. “Come on, you can tell us. We’re your friends, right?”

Friends? Rantaro pauses. Something about that word seems...right. Friends. 

You can trust friends, right?

But…

“Amami,” Maki suddenly says, “did you get this at the start of the game?”

“Huh, why is that important?” Kaito asks.

“Because,” she says, “if he did then I’ve just found my proof that Akamatsu is the mastermind.”

Kaito turns pale. Rantaro feels faint.

“You what?!”

“I’m not going to question why you have this right now,” Maki says, turning the tablet so that both Kaito and Rantaro can see it. “But this has to be proof that Akamatsu is the mastermind.”

“How did you come up with that conclusion?” Kaito asks with wide eyes. 

Maki points to the map on the tablet. “This tablet shows where the secret room is, correct? Amami, you intended to go to the room before the time limit was up, right?”

Rantaro nods. 

“I thought so,” Maki says, mostly to herself. “Then I am right. Amami, you were set up.”

“He was what?!” Kaito grabs the tablet. “Let me see! How does that make any sense?!”

“Because,” Maki easily replies, “there’s a hint on that’s apparently from Amami. However, I bet that the mastermind wrote that hint and used Amami’s name to sign it off to try and trick him into believing in the tablet. The tablet was probably a backup plan to kill Amami if no one had killed someone before the time limit was up.”

“You’re kidding,” Kaito mutters. “Seriously?”

“Amami has probably been too paranoid to notice that the tablet was a trap,” Maki continues, “so that’s why he’s been hiding it from us. The tablet specifically said to share it with people he trusted and that probably only made Amami even more distrustful. So before the time limit was up, Amami went to the library on his own, correct? The mastermind fully intended for that to happen and when Amami got into position, the mastermind tried to drop a shot put ball on his head.”

Rantaro’s eyes widen. 

“B-Bullshit!” Kaito declares. “You couldn’t have just figured that out by looking-”

“I’m an assassin, Momota,” Maki says. “It’s my job to lure people into secluded places to kill them.”

“B-But-”

“It only makes sense that Akamatsu is the mastermind,” Maki says, “she was the only person that day who tried to kill someone.”

“But if she was caught,” Kaito points out, “then she would’ve been killed! Surely the mastermind would’ve wanted to stick around to see the entire game!”

“Of course,” Maki says, pausing momentarily to think. “That’s why Akamatsu became friends with Saihara so quickly. She was going to use him as a scapegoat and convince everyone that he killed Amami.”

Rantaro feels sick. “She was?”

“No!” Kaito booms, “Maki, stop it! You can’t be right!”

“Of course I am,” Maki hisses. “You just don’t like the truth.”

“That’s because you’re wrong!”

“Then prove it!”

“W-Well, obviously I can’t right now but- hey, where are you going?”

“To sort out Akamatsu before she decides to kill you next for being so gullible,” Maki says, walking from the lab and slamming the door behind her. 

Kaito swears heavily as he follows her out of her lab. Rantaro follows in a daze. 

“H-Hold on!” Kaito huffs, trying to keep up with Maki’s quick pace. “Maki, stop!”

She doesn’t stop. She silently heads down to steps and out of the academy. Kaito follows desperately whilst Rantaro unconsciously copies Kaito. She’s impossibly fast on her feet. 

The dormitory doors shake as Maki pushes them into the walls, somehow not shattering the doors during the process. Rantaro catches one of the doors and closes it carefully behind him whilst Kaito continues to dart forwards, coughing. 

“Maki, come on,” he pleads. “We can just think things through and-”

Maki bangs on Kaede’s door. 

“Kaede, don’t open it!” Kaito shouts, a little too late. 

The pianist’s door opens a crack and there’s enough space for Maki to slip through and lock the door behind her. 

“Shit,” Kaito tugs on the hande. “Maki!”

Rantaro’s mind finally catches up with the situation. He feels panic before helping Kaito try to open the door. 

\---

“Is everything okay, Harukawa?” Kaede asks nervously.

She had just been getting ready to go to sleep when she had heard the loud thumping on her door. Presuming it had been Kaito, she had opened it easily. Now, as she slowly backs away to the end of the room, she feels heavy regret. 

It’s not as if she doesn’t like Maki. Kaede knows that Maki isn’t her biggest fan and that’s fine. She’s going to find a way to get everyone out of here and prove to Maki that she really does just want to help everyone.

Sure, she’s already messed with with Rantaro and all but she just wanted to save the group. It was as if she was apart of some clockwork as she made up her plan to stop the mastermind. Her mind was in the gutter when she had picked up the shot put ball and when she had sorted out all the books in the library. She had only woken up when the ball had left her hands and by then, she thought she was too late to undo her actions. 

However, she had missed. 

Maki’s eyes flash dangerously as she stalks forwards. 

“H-Harukawa, are you okay?” Kaede asks again, fright clawing at her insides and coating her skin in a light layer of sweat. 

She can faintly hear the sounds of Rantaro and Kaito trying to break into her room over the sound of her ears roaring. Her back hits her desk and spins around to find somewhere else to move.

Only, she can’t. 

Kaede is breathless as Maki wraps her hand around her throat and effortlessly lifts her up into the air. Her lungs scream for air and the roaring in her ears intensify as her head spins. She weakly starts to paw at Maki’s hand, her mouth opening and closing but no words coming out.

Maki squeezes harder. 

The world blurs. Kaede struggles. 

She doesn’t want this to be the end. She needs to save everyone! Kaede needs to make sure that everyone leaves before someone else falls victim to this killing game. As the leader of the group she can’t just let this end here. 

But Maki’s grip is strong. 

Kaede’s fingers are cold as she once again tries to pry Maki’s fingers away from her neck.

She feels tears prickle at her eyes. She doesn’t want this to be the end. She wants to live with everyone and leave. She wants to stop this killing game and go home where she’ll be safe. She wants-

“Stop crying.”

Maki loosens her grip ever so slightly. It’s enough that Kaede desperately heaves in a breath and her lungs thank her gratefully. However, she can still feel Maki’s hand on her neck and she doesn’t like it one bit. A tear drops down onto the assassin’s hand and Maki stares at it with a bored expression. 

“Pathetic,” Maki says, “crying because I’m ending your dumb killing game.”

“M-My k-kill-killing g-ga-me?” Kaede stutters out. 

Maki’s grip gets tighter again as her expression turns colder. “Shut up.”

“I’m n-n-not,” Kaede scratches at Maki’s hand. Really, it doesn’t make a difference. Kaede’s nails are short because she’s a pianist. Pianists don’t have long nails. They can’t actually do much but play piano. 

Not organise sick killing games. 

Maki’s glare makes Kaede flinch.

Kaede’s mind spins as she can hear her breathing start to fade. 

_She feels like she’s trapped in a nightmare that she once had before. She up much higher and she can hear someone destroy such a simple song. Her eyes sting as she’s thrown around. She can hear them all boo at her. She’s failed them. She’s failed them and now she’s-_

Kaede lands on the floor with a thump, breathing in desperately as a hand go to her neck. She’s hunched over with one hand holding her up for support. Her hair blocks her vision. 

“Get her out of here!”

She lifts her head up to see Kaito dragging Maki forcibly from the room, using his own arms to lock Maki’s own and pull her from the room. She can make out Rantaro by the door and Kokichi kneeling next to it with something thin in his hands. 

Kaede coughs and wipes her mouth. 

“Akamatsu!”

Tenko carefully kneels by the pianist’s side, gently putting one of her rough hands on Kaede’s back soothingly. The pianist freezes before her face scrunches up. It isn’t long before the pianist starts to cry loudly, sobs wracking her body as she falls into Tenko’s open arms. The aikido master doesn’t hesitate to pull her closer, putting her head on top of Kaede’s. 

“What’s happening?”

Tsumugi pauses at Kaede’s doorway and looks at the pianist and then at Maki. Kaito hadn’t gotten her that far. The assassin is still staring at Kaede with murder in her eyes. Tsumugi lets out a yelp and hides behind Kaede’s bedroom wall. 

“Man, it’s a good thing I know how to pick doors,” Kokichi says as he dusts his knees. “Seriously, Amami and Momota are useless!”

“Ouma, not now,” Rantaro roughly says. 

He tries to ignore Kaede’s sobbing and closes his eyes. This game. This cruel, _sick_ game. 

“Momota, let me go!” Maki furiously finally manages to knock Kaito away from her, hitting his stomach in the process. He falls heavily to the ground and for a moment, Maki’s face turns into a one of horror before she shakes her head. 

Kaito heaves heavily and uses his sleeve to hide his mouth. His entire body shakes as he coughs and coughs and coughs. 

“Momota?” Kirumi crouches down next to him, “are you hurt?”

“Shit, I’m fine,” Kaito manages to bark out, rubbing his mouth with a shaky hand. “Just, leave it. I’m fine.”

“But-”

“Get out of here!”

Maki has gone back to Kaede’s room. Tenko shakes on the floor, pulling in Kaede close. 

“Let her go.”

“No!” Tenko shakes her head. “Harukawa, Tenko doesn’t know what is wrong with you but Tenko won’t let you ki-hurt Akamatsu! If you come any closer Tenko will be forced to use her neo-aikido on you!”

“Fine,” Maki says. 

Tenko probably didn’t expect that answer. Her eyes widen as Maki stalks into the room. She delicately passes Kaede over to Tsumugi, who had moved to the back of the room to get away from Maki. The aikido master stands up tall and walks towards Maki until the two are face to face. Tenko holds her arms out wide and blocks the assassin’s path. 

“Tenko really doesn’t know why you want to hurt Akamatsu but there’s no way Tenko will just let you get to her! Please, Harukawa! Walk away!”

She doesn’t walk away. The moment the assassin moves Tenko grabs Maki and flips her into a position where she can securely hold her down. Maki growls from the floor and struggles. 

“Get Akamatsu out of here!” Tenko yells at Tsumugi.

The cosplayer squeaks and helps Kaede stand up, wrapping her arm over her shoulder and hastily helping her past Maki, who tries to grab for Kaede’s ankle. Tenko notices this and stops her. 

Tenko struggles as Maki starts to fight back and is forced to let her go as Maki jumps back onto her feet and rushes for Tenko. The aikido master bends back to dodge one of Maki’s fists and jumps over Maki’s foot. Tenko waits for an opening before firmly grabbing Maki’s arm and flipping her. Tenko feels terror as the assassin falls towards the floor and breaks out into a cold sweat as she tries to understand her opponent. 

Maki is dangerous. 

“Tenko demands you to stop!” Tenko pleads. “Tenko thinks you are acting really strange but she doesn’t want to hurt you!”

“Then move,” Maki coolly says. “Now.”

Tenko turns back to see that Kaede is now outside with the rest of the group. She stomps as she makes sure her feet are heavy on the ground. She will not move. She will not back down. 

Maki realises this and goes to run again. Tenko grabs her and spins her back into the room. She gasps loudly when Maki grips her wrist and squeezes hard, throwing her towards the floor which she lands on with a loud thump.

“You’re in the way of me ending the killing game,” Maki says. 

Tenko looks at Maki like she's just grown a second head. “You just tried to kill Akamatsu! That’s not ending anything!”

“It is,” Maki says quietly, “because she’s the mastermind.”

Tenko’s mouth goes dry. “W-What?”

“Akamatsu is the mastermind,” Maki says, “and I have proof. This fight is pointless. We can end the killing game right now.”

She offers a hand to Tenko. The aikido master blinks at it slowly before knocking it away. “Tenko does want to end the killing game but Tenko also doesn’t want to kill any of her friends! Tenko also refuses to believe that Akamatsu is the mastermind!”

Maki sighs and returns her hand to her side before leaving the room. Tenko hastily follows after her. 

“H-How do you know how to fight like that anyway?” Tenko hesitantly asks.

“Stop asking questions.”

“T-Tenko will stop you if you try to hurt Akamatsu again!”

“Whatever.”

Maki feels the breeze of the doors brush against her cheeks as she heads outside with Tenko. The aikido master nervously stands by Maki before deciding to wait with Himiko and Angie.

Kaito crosses his arms and stands in front of Kaede the moment he spots Maki. “You better not try anything stupid.”

Maki huffs. 

“Can someone explain what is going on?” Kiyo asks. “I was trying to sleep before I was awoken by loud banging.”

“There was loud banging?” Miu desperately asks. “Why the fuck do I miss out on all the kinky shit?!”

“What, like being choked?” Kokichi smirks. 

Shuichi shakes his head at him. He’s sat on a bench next to Kaede and has his arm around her shoulders. He doesn’t look like he’s moving any time soon. 

Miu splutters at the same time Kirumi sighs. “This is serious. If Ouma hadn’t unlocked the door in time then Akamatsu would be dead.”

“Indeed,” Kiyo says.

“What’s the big deal, Harukawa?” Himiko yawns. “Couldn’t have waited until morning to try and kill someone?”

“Yumeno, that isn’t the point!” Tenko gasps. “Harukawa could’ve killed Akamatsu!”

On the bench, Kaede shudders and leans in closer to the detective. Her throat hurts too much to speak. 

“And why did Harukawa try to kill Akamatsu?” Kokichi asks. “She must be an idiot to try and kill someone with so many people around!”

“Atua says she’s an idiot for trying to kill someone in the first place,” Angie says darkly. “He wonders if there is a place for her in his paradise.”

“I don’t care about that,” Maki says. She briefly shoots Rantaro a look before pulling out his perk video. He pales.

“Wait a second-”

“I have proof that Akamatsu is the mastermind,” Maki announces. 

“You have what?!” Miu trembles. 

“Akamatsu?” Kirumi’s visible eye widens. 

“She’s the mastermind?” Tsumugi gasps. 

“H-Hold on a second!” Kaito tries to grab the video but misses when Maki swiftly moves her hand. “That’s not yours to share, Maki!”

“It doesn’t matter,” Maki replies. “It’s proof that Akamatsu is the mastermind. I’m sure Amami wants to end the killing game just like all of us.”

“Amami?” Kokichi turns to look at him.

“What has Amami got to do with this?” Kirumi asks, frowning. 

Rantaro closes his eyes, trying to imagine himself anywhere else but here. He’s living his worst nightmare and there’s nothing he can do to stop it. 

“When Amami arrived here, he received this tablet,” Maki says. It’s only a small mercy that she doesn’t turn it on. “On it was a hint and a map of this school. The map showed every room on it including rooms that haven’t even been built yet and also the hidden room.”

“Oh, so that’s how Rantaro knew about the secret room!” Angie says. “I see, I see.”

“The hint was very...strange. However, I doubt that it was Amami who wrote it. This entire tablet was a trap for him,” Maki continues. “If a murder hadn’t occurred before Monokuma was satisfied, he was going to use a backup plan and have the mastermind kill Amami.”

“S-Seriously?” Miu stutters. 

“Maki,” Kaito shakes his head. “You’ve got this all wrong!”

She ignores him. “So the mastermind, Akamatsu, set up a trap in the library to kill Amami. She knew that the tablet would lure him in and sure enough, before the announcement went off, she tried to kill Amami with a shot put ball.”

“But Akamatsu failed to hit Amami,” Kirumi points out. “Whilst there was an attempt, she missed.”

“So?” Maki says. “She probably would’ve tried to kill Amami again if Kiibo hadn’t blown himself up.”

Kaede shakes her head desperately and tries to talk. When she realises that her voice isn’t loud enough for the group to hear, she starts to whisper to Shuichi, who listens carefully.

“Are you sure about this, Harukawa?” Kirumi asks. “This is a serious accusation. Perhaps it was just a coincidence that Akamatsu tried to kill Amami.”

“No,” Kiyo shakes his head. “She said that she was going to kill the mastermind. If she is the mastermind she could’ve been trying to fool us by saying that she herself was trying to kill the mastermind but was in fact trying to start the killing game.”

“Hold up you twiggy shit!” Miu shouts. “If Akamatsu had been successful and we all found out then she would’ve been executed!”

“No,” Maki says, “because she was going to use Saihara as a scapegoat.”

Kaito runs a hand through his hair. “Holy shit, Maki. You seriously can’t think that you’re right.”

“Anyone is welcome to correct me anytime,” Maki snaps. 

“Hold up!” Kokichi holds his hand out. “If this is all true then I really, really want to see this perk thing you’re on about! Harukawa and Amami could just be working together to try and trick us all! Maybe there’s even two masterminds!”

Maki looks at Rantaro. He wants to shake his head but Maki has put him in such a deep hole that he knows that he can’t get out now. He gestures for her to hand over the tablet and turns around to head back inside. 

“Wait a minute!” Tsumugi follows him. “Where are you going?”

“I don’t want to be around people right now,” Rantaro responds. 

“Well that’s too bad!” Tenko says. “Because no one is leaving until we sort all of this out!”

“That’s right!” Angie agrees, hands clasped together. “Because if someone leaves right now then they’ll totes be suspicious! Especially you, Rantaro! Just how long have you been lying to this group for? You better start praying for forgiveness now if you want a spot in paradise!”

“What paradise?” Himiko asks. 

“Woah!” Kokichi’s eyes light up as he scrolls through the perk. “Harukawa is totally right! This perk is so suspicious!”

“Don’t hog it all to yourself!” Tenko yells, taking the tablet from his hands. Kokichi pouts. 

Rantaro sits on the dormitory steps as he watches the group share the tablet between themselves. He’s more than surprised when Tsumugi sits down next to him, cupping her chin with her hands and staring at the tablet with blank eyes. 

“Shirogane?”

“H-Huh?”

“Are you okay?”

“Oh,” she fiddles with a strand of her blue hair. “I’m fine. I’m just...surprised. I really wasn’t expecting this tonight.”

“Me neither,” Rantaro agrees. 

Tsumugi clears her throat. “Do you really think that Akamatsu is the mastermind? Harukawa seems convinced that she is…”

Honestly, Rantaro doesn’t know how to answer. He sighs heavily. “I really don’t know.”

“Because,” Tsumugi fumbles with her hair, “I’d like it if we could all trust each other here, you know? W-Wait, that wasn’t a dig at you or anything! Oh dear! Trust plain old me to put my foot in my mouth.”

“It’s fine,” Rantaro says. 

“I’d be scared if I got a perk like you did too,” Tsumugi continues. “I don’t think anyone is going to blame you for not sharing it.”

He mumbles a thank you but doesn’t say anything else. He doesn’t feel like he’s in his own body and that he’s floating away up into the air. The feel of the cold steps isn’t too grounding but when Tsumugi leans in to rest her head on his shoulder, he jumps and suddenly he’s back sitting in front of the dormitories again. 

“Don’t you think it’s strange how Harukawa was able to easily lift Akamatsu up in the air like that?” Tsumugi asks. “I don’t think child care givers are supposed to be able to do that.”

“Probably not,” Rantaro agrees, not really listening to himself.

Tsumugi nods. “Right! Maybe Harukawa is lying about something herself!”

Rantaro finally jolts and nearly falls down the steps along with Tsumugi. Some of the group send them strange looks as Rantaro bashfully sits up properly whilst helping Tsumugi too. 

“I think things have been a little hectic tonight,” Rantaro says. “I don’t think I could handle distrusting everyone in the group right now.”

Tsumugi pauses then sighs softly. “Yeah, you’re right. So much has happened in one go. I personally hate it in anime when they reveal too much in one go! I like a story that’s spaced out!”

Rantaro wants to tell her that they’re not in an anime right now but fails when she starts babbling on about her favourite anime. Her voice goes over his head as he looks over at Kaede and Shuichi. Despite everything, the detective hasn’t left her side and has even given her his jacket. It’s probably because Kaede is shaking, although Rantaro is unsure if that’s because she’s cold or scared. It's probably both.

He can’t help but feel bad for Kaede right now. His mind is screaming that she’s the mastermind but he can’t help but feel that something is wrong. Really wrong. He should be feeling relieved right now. They’ve found the mastermind, right? They don’t have to play this killing game anymore. 

It’s over.

Right?

“Wow! I can’t believe the killing game is over now!” Kokichi cries out in relief. “I was scared that we’d all start to kill each other again! What a relief!”

“Yes,” Kiyo side eyes him and steps away from the smaller boy. “This is good news.”

“You can't be serious?” Kaito asks incredulously. “Kaede isn’t the fucking mastermind!”

“Momota,” Maki angrily sighs, “let it go. I’m sorry that you don’t want to believe that she’s the mastermind but she is. There’s no other explanation.”

“There has to be!” Kaito insists. “We haven’t even opened up the rest of the school yet! What if we find more clues later on?”

“Is Momota suggesting that we should kill each other to unlock the school?” Kokichi asks, grinning. “Wow, I had no idea you were so desperate for this killing game! Maybe it’s Momota who is the mastermind!”

“Don’t be stupid,” Maki glares at him. “We’ve already found the mastermind. It’s Akamatsu.”

“But Tenko really doesn’t think-”

“What are we going to do with her then?” Kiyo asks. “I’m not sure she’ll just stop the game because we caught her.”

“She has to,” Maki insists. “Because if she doesn’t I-”

“We’re not killing her!” Kaito argues. 

“Then how else do we end the game? She’s been exposed already? Shouldn’t Monokuma be out here or something trying to stop all of us?” Himiko asks.

“He isn’t out here because Akamatsu isn’t the mastermind!” Kaito yells in frustration. “Come on! You all seriously can’t be considering this.”

“But Angie is!” Angie says. “But Angie also thinks murder is bad and that everyone is super tired right now! Atua thinks that we should just lock Kaede up for the night and then sort things out tomorrow!”

“Tenko doesn’t think that it’s fair that Akamatsu isn’t being judged properly,” Tenko says, “but Tenko is also worried for Akamatsu’s safety. Akamatsu is welcome to stay in Tenko’s room-”

“We can’t keep her in the dormitories!” Angie gasps. “That’s where everyone else is sleeping! Atua says that Kaede should be left in the academy and away from everyone else!”

“What about in one of those three rooms?” Kiyo suggests. “They don’t lock but if we guard it then we should all be fine.”

“If that’s the case there should be two guards,” Kirumi says. “Only having one on would put that person in danger.”

“I’ll g-guard her!” Shuichi quickly volunteers. 

“No way!” Tenko argues. “Tenko will look after Akamatsu! Tenko doesn’t trust any nasty boys to be around Akamatsu whilst she’s so vulnerable!”

“But I won’t do anything,” Shuichi insists quietly. 

Tenko ignores him. “Tojo! You seem right for the job! You’ll help Tenko look after Akamatsu for the night, right?”

Kirumi nods. “If that is your request.”

“Why are we even locking her up in the first place?!” Kaito shakes his head in disbelief. “She’s innocent!”

“Tenko agrees with you,” Tenko says, “but Tenko also doesn’t think that Akamatsu will be safe on her own tonight. That’s why Tenko will look after her!”

Maki scoffs. “Whatever. I don’t see why we’re waiting until tomorrow to sort this. She could do anything during the night.”

“And I’m really scared I’ll be attacked during the night!” Kokichi starts to cry. “Someone protect me!”

“No one is killing anyone tonight!” Angie declares. “Because Atua is keeping an eye on all of you! Angie will be really disappointed if she finds any bodies tomorrow!”

Rantaro folds in on himself, feeling a little more than intimidated by Angie’s gaze. She looks around the group with a dark expression that’s made even creepier by the fact that she’s still smiling. 

“Right,” Himiko yawns. “Does this mean I don’t have to do my magic show tomorrow?”

“Of course you can have your magic show!” Tenko says. “Tenko will find you as soon as she can, okay?”

“That’s not what I meant,” Himiko murmurs before heading back inside the dormitories. 

One by one everyone heads back inside to their own rooms. Rantaro is about to head inside when he’s stopped when someone grabs his shirt sleeve. 

“Um, so Angie totes get why you lied to the group,” Angie says, “but she doesn’t think that you should lie anymore, okay?”

“Okay?”

“Angie really likes you because you gave her really cool stuff but,” Angie hums thoughtfully, “Angie needs to make sure that like, everyone is going to get along from now on. So that means no secrets! If Rantaro is hiding anything else then he should tell Angie now! And don’t try to lie, Atua always knows when people like to Angie.”

Rantaro swallows. Sure, he knows a couple more secrets. He also knows that another student is an assassin. However, until the whole mastermind problem is sorted Rantaro doesn’t think that it’s in his place to out Maki’s talent. He shakes his head. 

Angie smiles sadly at him and holds his hand in a strong grip. “That’s a real shame, Rantaro. Angie only hopes that whatever you’re hiding is super worth it. Angie will give Rantaro until tomorrow to become secret free, okay?”

She hops back to her room with no other words.

Rantaro is left speechless and heads back into his own room after sparing Tenko, Kaede and Kirumi one last look. 

He should be ecstatic right now. However...everything feels wrong. 

He can only hope that things are better tomorrow.


	12. Chapter 12

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for reading!

An emergency announcement that played instead of the usual morning announcement had everyone in the gym instead of heading to the dining hall. Rantaro had walked to the gym on his own, feeling more than a little self conscious as he actively tried to ignore everyone he walked past in fear of judgement. 

He lowered his head when he saw Tenko, Kirumi and Kaede head down the steps to get to the gym. The pianist looked as exhausted as he felt, with purple rings under her eyes to match the mess of purple that decorated her neck. It looked even more frightening to look at now that there was daylight. When Kaede caught his eye, she had ducked her head away in shame.

The gym thankfully hadn’t been touched by Monokuma. Himiko’s magic show set up was still there, although the piranhas that were in the higher tank looked hungrier than ever. Rantaro felt a pang of sympathy for the magician and was glad that he didn’t have to deal with the starving fish. 

Monokuma angrily walks around the gym, throwing around scraps of paper that flutter to the floor. When Rantaro looks down at the papers, he finds that he can’t actually read what is on them. This causes him to wonder what Monokuma is actually doing. 

“Oh, you all finally decided to turn up?” Monokuma snaps, throwing the rest of the paper on the floor.

“Hey, you better clean that up!” Tenko yells. “Yumeno has her magic show later and Tenko won’t let some dumb bear ruin it!”

“Eek!” Monokuma scrambles back. “I let you watch one execution and now you’ve all turned rebellious!”

“Why were we all called here anyway?” Kirumi asks. “Is this about last night?”

“Last night?” Monokuma puts a paw to his mouth. “What happened last night? Was there another murder? Now, I’m glad that you’re all getting into this game but could you at least space them out just a little?”

“There was no murder last night,” Kiyo informs the bear. “Although I must say that there almost was.”

“Almost?” Monokuma sweats. “Man, there’s nothing more disappointing when you get to the climax of a good moment and then they decide to pull out last second!”

“I agree!” Miu cackles. “Take notes you virgins!”

“Hey!” Kaito pushes his way to the front of the group. “Then what is this announcement about?”

“He’s probably going to tell us the killing game is over,” Tsumugi says. “Because we captured the mastermind last night!”

Monokuma narrows his eyes, squinting at Tsumugi. “Eh?”

Maki roughly grabs Kaede’s arm and drags her to the front of the group, ignoring Kaito’s yells for her to stop. “We’ve captured the mastermind. The killing game is finished.”

“Ehhh?” Monokuma looks frazzled. “Why’d you bring Akamatsu?”

“Because she’s the mastermind,” Himiko says slowly. “She has to be. Harukawa was trying to kill her last night.”

“She tried to what?” Monokuma’s eyes widen. “How interesting!”

“It’s not interesting!” Kaito yells. “Tell them they’re wrong! Kaede isn’t the mastermind!”

Maki shakes her head. “Momota, why are you so against Akamatsu being the mastermind? We’ve gathered plenty of evidence to say that she is. Don’t you want the killing game to end?”

“W-Well of course I do!” Kaito sighs. “But Kaede is innocent! I just don’t see why you don’t believe me!”

Ignoring him, Maki turns back to Monokuma and pushes Kaede towards him. The pianist stumbles and falls to the floor, her knees landing painfully against the wood. Monokuma blinks at the girl.

“You all think Akamatsu is the mastermind?” he asks.

“Quit playing dumb,” Maki says. “We figured it out last night.”

“Well actually,” Tenko pokes her fingers together. “You decided to try and kill Akamatsu last night because you thought that she was the mastermind. Tenko doesn’t actually think Akamatsu is the mastermind and Tenko knows that most of the group doesn’t think so either. There’s not actually that much evidence to say that she is.”

“Yes there is,” Maki frowns, pulling out Rantaro’s perk. “This is-”

“Where did you get that?” Monokuma panics, snatching the perk from Maki’s hands. “You aren’t supposed to have this!”

“Obviously,” Maki responds. “It’s Amami’s. Akamatsu planted it on him when he first arrived here and was going to use it to lure him into the library so that she could kill him. There’s no other explanation why Amami would have it otherwise.”

“Is that so?” Monokuma grins. “That certainly is very interesting! I’ll have to keep that in mind! However, due to circumstances, I’ll have to keep a hold of it from now on. No one else was technically supposed to know about this so-”

“Just shut up!” Kaito crosses his arms. “We’ll talk about the stupid perk later. What’s more important is knowing whether or not Kaede is the mastermind!”

“True, true,” Monokuma looks down at his feet, kicking away at the floor. “But it would be rather boring if I just said if she is or not! It’s a win in my book if you’re all suspicious of each other! This sort of tension brings in tons of attention!”

“Attention?” Kiyo raises an eyebrow. 

“Anyway,” Monokuma smiles brightly. “I didn’t call you all down here to talk about masterminds! I’ve ever so kindly organised a new motive for you all! Isn’t your headmaster so nice?”

“Um, Angie says no,” Angie bobs her head to the side. “We don’t want a new motive, thanks.”

“Well too bad!” Monokuma angrily throws his paws in the air, his attitude doing a quick flip. “I went to a lot of trouble sorting out this new motive for you all! Honestly, do any of you have any idea how difficult things have been for me? All I’m doing is trying to run a successful killing game and absolutely nothing has gone right! Nothing! I’ve only gotten to execute one of you so far! It’s all that stupid robot’s fault!”

“Hey, leave Kiibo alone!” Miu suddenly yells. “He did nothing wrong!”

“Oh yeah?” Monokuma takes a deep breath. “I didn’t realise that youths these days are so rebellious. I’m glad that my precious kids are much better behaved.”

The monokubs take this as a cue to enter the gym, all of them popping up behind Monokuma as if by magic. 

There's a clear tension growing between the four of them. Monotaro and Monophanie stand to the side with sweat trickling down their faces whilst Monokid grips onto a guitar tightly, glaring at Monodam with a faint blush. 

“Why did you kill my brother?” Monokid roars, slamming the guitar into the green kub. 

Monodam doesn’t say anything. He pulls himself up from the floor and blinks. 

“Uh, he didn’t kill Monosuke,” Monotaro says, “that was, uh, you.”

“Me?” Monokid pauses. “No, that can’t be right!”

“No,” Monophanie confirms. “You knocked him over! I saw!”

“Oh.” Monokid stares at his siblings in a stupor. “But I bet it was still Monodam’s fault! He’s always been the odd one out!”

Monokuma smiles warmly as he watches his kubs. “Aren’t all my children just adorable? I’ve done such a good job raising them all on my own!”

“Not really,” Kirumi frowns, stepping away as Monokid’s guitar flies past her. 

“You’re getting off topic,” Maki says sharply. “There will be no new motive given to us because this killing game is over. We’ve captured the mastermind. You can’t continue this game if no one is running it.”

“I’m running it!” Monokuma reminds her. “And I’ll remind you that you can’t lay a finger on me unless you want to get killed!”

“That’s no problem,” Maki cracks a knuckle. “The mastermind can’t help you if I just get rid of you now.”

“M-Maki, wait a second,” Kaito grabs onto her shoulder. “You seriously aren’t considering fighting Monokuma are you?”

“We’ve already captured the mastermind,” Maki says. “All we need to do now is get rid of Monokuma.”

“Ah!” Monophanie sweats more. “She’s trying to get rid of daddy!”

Three Exisals sudden storm into the room. Rantaro notices that there is a blue one missing and spots Monokid rolling around on the floor, clearly having problems standing up properly.

Maki doesn’t break a sweat as she stares down the three machines. All the other students take a couple of steps back, with Kirumi guiding Miu back as the inventor obliviously stands still. 

“O-Oh?” Monokuma puts his paws up. “W-Well I’d like to see you try!”

“Please-stop!” Monodam yells. “This-isn’t-getting-along!”

“We’ll get along better if we dispose of the mastermind,” Maki says. “Isn’t that what you want?”

“Oh no!” Monophanie squeaks. “She’s using his only weakness against him! Friendship!”

Rantaro stares in disbelief as Monodam actually pauses to think about Maki’s words. Behind the green exisal, Monokuma’s face turns purple.

“T-This is definitely not apart of the script!” he wails.

“Uh, what do we do?” Monotaro asks.

“Aren’t you supposed to be the leader?” Monophanie responds uselessly. 

“Not-anymore,” Monodam suddenly says. He takes a step forward and lands right on top of Monokid. The blue monokub explodes loudly and his head pops off to the corner of the room. The bear blinks once more before he stops moving completely. 

Monophanie starts shrieking before puke starts to pool out from the Exisal. 

“Oh wow!” Monotaro watches in awe. “It’s blue! That’s rather lucky!”

Tenko howls in dismay. “That’s going to take ages to clean up!”

Kirumi sighs. “I’ll have it sorted whilst everyone else has breakfast.”

“I think there’s more pressing matters right now,” Kiyo points out. He gestures over to Maki and Monodam. 

“No-one-is-getting-along,” Monodam says. “This-is-unfortunate-but-there-is-only-one-person-who-is-responsible-for-this. Father-you-have-failed-to-keep-everyone-under-harmonious-control. There-is-no-other-choice-but-to-let-us-take-over.”

“What?” Monokuma pales. “Not only are the students rebelling but my own children too?”

“M-Monodam! What are you saying?” Monotaro asks. “We can’t run the school!”

“Yes-we-can,” Monodam says. “Father-has-failed-to-help-these-bastards-get-along. I-suggest-we-begin-the-monokub-uprising!”

“The power has completely gone to his head!” Monophanie cries helplessly. 

“What is going on?” Himiko pulls on her hat. “It’s too early for this. Are we still doing the killing game or not?”

As if magic, the room goes silent.

“Of course you a-”

Monokuma is silenced when Monodam points the Exisals’s gun at him. “Silence. You-are-no-longer-needed.”

The black and white bear flees from the room quickly. Monodam remains still momentarily before turning back around loudly. 

“The-killing-game-is-still-on,” Monodam says. “You-all-have-failed-to-capture-the-mastermind.”

“But she’s right there,” Maki hisses, furiously pointing down at Kaede. 

“I don’t think Akamatsu is the mastermind,” Monophanie ponders out loud. 

“She isn’t?” Kaito’s face turns into one of relief. “I knew it! I knew that I could believe in her!”

“You’re wrong.” Maki turns to the Exisals. “She has to be. I had eviden-”

Monodam completely ignores her. “We-have-the-new-motive-for-you-all-right-here. In-order-for-you-all-to-get-along-we-are-going-to-shuffle-your-talents-around. That-way-you-can-all-understand-each-other.”

“Wait!” Monotaro rubs the top of his head. “Wasn’t the motive going to be that book?”

“Monotaro-did-you-not-hear-what-father-said-this-morning? That-motive-is-useless. They-won’t-get-along-if-they-use-it.”

“But we can’t shuffle their talents!” Monophanie cries. “The big reveal hasn’t been done yet!”

“What is this big reveal?” Kiyo asks. “It seems that this game has just been full of mysteries one after another. Although, they’re all intriguing so I cannot complain.”

Maki takes a firm step forwards. “I said that the killing game is-”

“The-big-reveal-was-going-to-be-that-one-of-your-classmates-had-been-lying-about-their-talent. However-due-to-circumstances-the-reveal-had-not-yet-been-done-even-though-it-should-have-been-a-while-ago. I-have-no-other-choice-but-to-tell-everyone-so-that-you-can-all-get-along. Lies-hurt-friendships.”

“Oh really?” Kokichi smiles smugly.

Maki glares up at the Exisal but is too slow when Monodam suddenly grabs her around her middle. A brief moment of shock causes her expression to change but she quickly starts to struggle in the Exisal’s grip.. 

“Holy shit!” Kaito runs forwards. “What are you doing!? W-Wait a second, Maki! I’ll help you down!”

“M-Monodam,” Monophanie stutters. “Aren’t you taking this a little too far?”

Steam pours out of the green Exisal. “Friends-don’t-lie-to-each-other!”

“I’m not friends with anyone here,” Maki huffs, “so you can put me down right now.”

“Soon-you-will-all-get-along,” Monodam ignores her words. “Friends-can-also-learn-to-forgive-each-other.”

“Hey! Put her down so she can tell everyone herself!” Kaito yells, standing directly underneath the green Exisal. He uselessly tries to reach up to help Maki but is unable to reach her no matter how many times he tries to help her. “You have no right to reveal her true talent without her permission!”

Monodam considers this. “Friends-who-tell-the-truth-themselves-are-good. Very-well-then-you-bastard. Tell-your-friends-your-real-talent.”

He drops her to the floor. Maki scrambles to land on her feet and she lands with her legs bent and her head facing down so she can avoid eye contact. Kaito quickly rushes to her side, much to her surprise. 

“What do you want?” she mutters. 

“I know this isn’t the way you wanted things to turn out,” Kaito says, “but you’ve got to hold your head up high! I won’t abandon you after this, Maki.”

She turns her head to the side. “Then you’re an idiot.”

“So!” Angie clasps her hands together. “Angie is really curious about Maki’s real talent! Angie needs to make sure that Maki is fit to stay here!”

Kaito puts a hand on Maki’s shoulder but she instantly shrugs it off. “Stop it. I don’t need comforting. You already know what I am.”

Rantaro swallows. He feels awful. He is also wondering why Monodam hasn’t said anything about his talent. Then again, people might have figured out what his real talent is after last night. It doesn’t take a genius to figure out that his perk is linked to his talent.

“What you are?” Kokichi hums. “That sounds awfully suspicious, Harukawa.”

She glares at him and then up at Monodam. 

“Hurry-up-you-bastard. I'm-on-a-tight-schedule.”

Maki blankly stares at the machine and then looks away. “Fine. I’m not... the Ultimate Childcare Giver.”

“Well clearly,” Kokichi grins.

“Knock it off!” Kaito shakes his head. 

“Harukawa, please continue,” Kirumi encouragingly says. 

Rantaro knows Maki is currently face to face with her own fears. Her posture doesn’t betray her emotions but he thinks that maybe she’s more fearful than she’s letting on. She looks at the group and then at Kaede. She grasps the air.

“Any-time-soon.”

Maki glares, her fists clenching. She had failed her mission last night. This is her punishment.

“I’m the...Ultimate Assassin.”

\---

Kokichi whistles as he saunters inside of the Ultimate Inventor’s lab. He spots Miu leaning over a table, obviously trying to build something but clearly having difficulty doing so. He grins and sneaks up behind her.

“Boo!”

“Fuck!”

Miu drops her tools onto the floor and she cries out, pulling herself up onto her desk and knocking all sorts off of it. She trembles for a moment, her eyes screwed shut before she opens them angrily. 

“What the fuck do you want?” she asks angrily, pulling herself off the table. “Can’t you see that I’m busy?”

“That’s a little ironic,” Kokichi innocently says. “About seeing? Because you know, everyone knows that you can’t see. I thought I’ll be kind enough to share that information with you. You’re welcome, by the way.”

“What the hell do you mean?” Miu snaps, spinning around. Her face completely misses Kokichi. She’s currently facing a wall whilst Kokichi giggles behind her. When she realises this, she growls. “Where the fuck did you go?!”

“I’m right here!” Kokichi pushes Miu on the back. She screams as she falls on the floor, landing on her hands and knees. “You might want to pull your skirt down.”

Miu’s face goes red as she quickly readjusts her skirt. “What the hell do you want? Your presence is hurting my brain cells!”

“Your brain cells?” Kokichi grins. “But they’re my brain cells now! I’ve come here to claim my lab! Meet your new Ultimate Inventor!”

“Y-You got my talent?” Miu looks disgusted as she puts her hands on her hips. “Then give it back! The world needs me! Not you!”

“Eh? I can’t just give it back!” Kokichi points out. “You’ll have to ask one of the monokubs for it back. Besides, the whole reason we swapped talents was so that we become friends! Isn’t this great, Miu? We can be besties!”

“It’s Iruma!” Miu barks. “I-ru-ma!”

“Miu!”

“Iruma!”

“Miu!”

“Iruma!”

“Iruma!”

“Miu!” Miu blinks. “Fuck, wait-”

“Okay, Miu!” Kokichi smiles brightly. 

“Just get out of my lab!”

“But Miu,” Kokichi pouts, “you can’t exactly do anything here. Besides, I have some super duper important things that I need to make!”

“No you don’t!” Miu walks along the walls until she finds her door. She opens it harshly. “Get the fuck out of my lab!”

“Are you deaf too?” Kokichi snaps. “I said I need to make some things you dumb cow.”

“W-Why are you so mean to me?” Miu feels tears prickle her eyes. However, she doesn’t feel any distress. She squirms. “What do you want anyway?”

“Did you not listen to a single thing I just said?” Kokichi says, “I need to make some stuff. You’ve been absolutely useless lately. I’ve been wanting you to make me my stuff for absolutely ages! Why are you such a disappointment?”

“Why didn’t y-you just ask?” Miu shakes. 

“Because,” Kokichi shakes his head, “you actually need to see to make the things I want. I have plans and everything! This game could’ve ended ages ago if you weren’t so stupid!”

“R-Really?”

“Yep!” Kokichi takes a seat at the desk, eyes roaming around at all the materials. Only an hour ago he would’ve had no idea how anything in this room works. Now he can easily figure identify each tool and each material. He certainly got lucky when the talents were shuffled around. 

“That’s a lie right?” Miu asks. “Y-You’re bluffing!”

Kokichi sighs. “Can you just leave already? I have work to do and your entire existence is bothering me.”

“But I have nowhere else to go!” Miu wails. “This is my room!”

“Then go to your bedroom.”

“Harukawa is probably in the dormitories,” Miu shudders. “And I’m not dealing with that stabby bitch.”

Kokichi snorts. “It’s not my problem.”

Miu shuffles to the next surface she can find and sits down heavily on top of it. “I-If I stay quiet will you let me stay?”

“Hmm,” Kokichi hums, putting a finger to his lips. “But didn’t I just say that your entire existence was annoying me? I can’t concentrate if I know that you’re in this room.”

“I-It’s not like you can see me from other here!”

“And you can’t see me from anywhere!”

Miu feels heavy after hearing his words. It’s true, she can’t see much. During working on Kiibo the robot had blown up and the explosion had damaged her eyes. Whilst not everything is completely black, she can’t actually see much at all. Her head has been hurting the last couple of days from all the noise she is forced to listen to. She’s been using sound and touch to get around and when it’s time for a meal, smell.

She hates feeling this vulnerable. If Kokichi is correct and everyone knows that she’s blind then she’ll become an easy target. Miu feels even worse knowing that there’s now an assassin in the group. She has no idea who is now the Ultimate Assassin. Obviously Maki shouldn’t still have her own talent after the shuffle.

“Quit sniffling,” Kokichi sighs. “I’m trying to concentrate.”

“I’m not!” Miu retorts, wiping her nose with the sleeve of her jacket. “Shut the fuck up you shitty gremlin.”

Much to her surprise, he does. Miu listens carefully to the sounds of Kokichi creating something. Although she’ll never admit it out loud, the sounds are comforting. She hasn’t been able to make anything ever since she lost her sight. She’s tried over and over but having only lost her sight a couple of days ago, Miu isn’t used to not being able to see anything. She closes her eyes and leans back against a wall, allowing herself to forget everything even if it is just for a moment. 

“Hey Miu!”

Miu groans. “What?”

“Pick a colour!”

“Why?”

“Just do it already!”

“Ugh, fine!” Miu huffs. “Hot pink!”

“Alrighty then!”

Miu crosses her arms as Kokichi continues to build. She’s surprised at how fast he got used to her talent. Whilst Miu is a natural genius, she usually takes her time making creations. From what she can hear, Kokichi is wild with his movements. He drops tools as quickly as he picks up another one. If Miu could see, she would be watching him with intrigue.

Honestly, Miu isn’t exactly sure whose talent she has. Whilst she knows that she doesn’t have her own talent due to her feeling her brain suddenly being dumbed down, she can’t put a finger on whose talent she now has. She thinks that it may be Tsumugi’s. Whilst her hands no longer itch to create new things, they do itch to make new clothes. However, Miu knows that there’s nowhere in the academy to do this. Besides, she can’t see anyway.

She plays with her goggles idly. She doesn’t know why she has them on, she just thought it was a good idea. Also, Miu hopes that they hide her eyes. She has no idea how they look after the explosion. She hadn’t wanted people finding out about her lack of sight. 

Now that she thinks about it, has Kokichi told anyone? And who else knows? Miu whimpers. 

She’s pulled from her thoughts when Kokichi makes a rather happy sound. Miu ponders what has put him in such a good mood when she hears him start to rummage around the room. He starts to slam all of the windows shut and makes sure that the door is closed tightly. Miu listens to him shut all the locks and for a moment, she’s scared.

Her hand inches slowly across the desk until her fingers meet a spanner. Miu swipes it quickly and holds it to her chest. When she hears Kokichi start to approach her, she yells and throws herself from the desk and swings her arms that are above her head. 

Miu squeals when she realises that she has missed. The spanner is currently lodged into the wall.

Kokichi’s eyes widen. “Wow, Miu! What did that poor wall ever do to you?”

“Why the fuck have you locked us in here?” she demands, crossing her arms. “Are you insane?!”

“Nope!” Kokichi beams. “I just need to try something out!”

“H-Huh?”

She startles when she hears a loud nose come from next to her. It resembles the sound of a hoover. She edges away from Kokichi and the noise.

When the noise stops, Miu lets out a sigh of relief. “What the fuck sort of sucking machine have you made?!”

“Don’t worry your ugly little head about it,” Kokichi responds.

He heads back to the desk and pulls out his next new invention. When he had noticed Kiibo’s body parts in a box tucked into the corner, he had gone through everything. The robot’s eye proved more than useful when Kokichi realised he could make a small microscope out of it. He places the microscope over his eye and zooms in on the small vacuum he had made.

There’s mini Monokumas. Kokichi stares at them silently. Huh. He zooms in closer when he realises that they’re holding something. Double huh. They’re holding...cameras?

Kokichi’s face goes blank. He guesses that makes sense. There had to be some way Monokuma was watching everyone. 

He picks up one of the hot pink spheres from the desk and smirks before throwing it onto the floor. The room floods with smoke and he hears Miu start to cough and climb up onto her desk to get out of it. Kokichi isn’t too fussed about the smoke. He starts up the vacuum again before peering inside. 

The mini Monokumas are all frozen. Interesting. They almost look like they’re asleep.

“What the fuck are you doing now?” Miu splutters. “At least open a window!”

“Hey, Miu?” Kokichi asks. “How would you get rid of the mastermind?”

“What the hell? Why would you ask me that?! I’m not trying to get killed by the mastermind! What if they can hear us?!”

“Wow, you’re just as paranoid as Amami!” Kokichi says. “Don’t worry about that for now. This is all just hypothetical. The mastermind won’t go after us if we aren’t actually planning anything.”

“F-Fuck! I don’t know!” Miu coughs. “Get fucking Harukawa to sort them out? I’m not letting myself get hurt for no reason!

“Huh, so you’d want them dead?” Kokichi hums. “Interesting. You’re so disappointing, Miu.”

Miu wafts her hands around and quickly realises that the smoke has now gone. “Ouma, what did you do anyway?”

“Oh, nothing,” he says. “I’m just playing with my new toys.”

“Toys? What sort of toys?” Miu asks, narrowing her eyes. 

“Nothing that you’d use,” Kokichi sighs. “I’m not a dirty-minded whore like you.”

“Eek!”

“Well, thanks for letting me use the lab but I’m done now!” Kokichi happily scoops up the pile of hot pink bombs. “Bye bye!”

“W-Wait!” Miu scrambles forwards and luckily grabs onto the small boy. “You’re not just going to leave me on my own, right?”

“Huh? You want my company?” Kokichi raises an eyebrow. “Why would I want to hang out with someone like you? I’ve already risked my health by being around you!”

“I-It's not that!” Miu wails. “I-I can’t fucking see a-and I can’t m-make anything to h-help me so…”

“Oh, I get it!” Kokichi puts the bombs down on the desk. “You want my help because you’re so worthless!”

“No, well, yes!” Miu pushes some of her hair out of her face. “I’ll do anything! P-Please!”

Kokichi blinks down at Miu, who has gotten down onto her knees. He backs away ever so slightly. “And do tell me why I should be so inclined to help you?”

“B-Because,” Miu says, “I-I let you u-use my lab!”

“And I’m sure I’ll let you use mine!” Kokichi smiles. “If you live long enough.”

Miu howls. “Please! I’ll do absolutely everything! Don’t leave me on my own! I’ll die!”

“And that just means I have a higher chance of living! Your sacrifice won’t be in vain!”

“No! Please!”

Kokichi frowns when she latches onto his leg, rubbing her face into it and making his trouser leg wet with tears. He quickly checks his vacuum again. The Monokumas are still asleep. He sighs loudly.

“If I help you,” he says slowly, “you can’t tell a single person. I’ve got an image to maintain.”

“Y-You’ll help me?” Miu sniffs. 

Kokichi sighs loudly. “Only because I’m sick of the sound of your voice. However! If I hear you’ve told anyone about me helping you then I’ll be very, very angry! Surely someone as dumb as you understands what I’m getting at?”

Miu nods. “F-Fine.”

“Okay!” 

He turns back to the desk and looks through the box of parts once more. What can he make to help her? Kokichi hums and quietly rummages through the box. He stops when he finds something that he never gave much thought on and holds it in his hands. 

“Hmm…”

“W-What?”

“Oh, nothing!” Kokichi smiles brightly and slides the object into his pocket. “Now shut the hell up! I’m thinking!”

\---

Tsumugi is more than happy as she twirls around in a borrowed dress. She clasps her hands happily together and grins as the skirts swish around her ankles. 

“Shirogane, whilst I am pleased that you like your new outfit, I would really like to have breakfast,” Kiyo says. He’s sat at the dining table along with Kirumi. There’s a disappointing lack of people in the room. 

“But I’ve always wanted to dress as a maid!” Tsumugi squeals as she lets the dress brush against her ankles again. “I’m so glad that this fits me! Tojo is so lucky to be able to wear this everyday! It’s better than my plain old outfit!”

“Your outfit is fine,” Kirumi reassures her. “Although I don’t wear my uniform for fashion reasons. My uniform has been designed for practical reasons so I am able to complete any task with ease. The skirts are loose fitting so I am able to move swiftly in them whilst also maintaining a formal look. It is unbecoming of a maid to look rather messy.”

“I see!” Tsumugi giggles. Kiyo clears his throat and she sighs. “Okay, okay! I’ll start making breakfast! But…” She glances around the table with a worried expression. “Do I make enough for everyone? Hardly anyone is here…”

“As a maid you should be able to figure that out for yourself,” Kirumi clicks her tongue. “I’m afraid I cannot help you as much as want to right now. My mind is feeling rather...empty.”

“Oh,” Tsumugi sags. She quickly straightens up again. “Oh! You’re right! I’ll start making things right away!”

She dashes into the kitchen, her skirts bouncing behind her. 

“I see that she is rather enthusiastic about her talent,” Kiyo comments. “I’m afraid I cannot say the same as much as I like to.”

“Why is that?” Kirumi raises an eyebrow. 

“It’s quite simple,” Kiyo says, “it seems that I’ve received Chabashira’s talent. I’m not sure if I’m prepared for her reaction if she does find this out. She seems to have a peculiar hatred for men.”

“That...does seem like a problem,” Kirumi agrees. She sadly plays with her gloves. 

“May I ask what is wrong?”

“Well,” Kirumi hesitates, clearly distressed. “I am having trouble figuring out whose talent I have. I have no particular urges to do anything. Perhaps that the monokubs forgot to give me a talent?”

“Impossible,” Kiyo says. “The talents had been swapped around. The green monokub seems to desperately want us all to get along. I’m sure that he wouldn’t forget to give you a new talent.”

“But…”

“Perhaps you received Amami’s talent? He doesn’t know what his is, correct?”

“So it seems,” Kirumi places her hands on the table, holding them tightly. “But I am rather concerned about the perk that he received. Wouldn’t that suggest his talent?”

“It does?” Kiyo hums. “I see, you think that perhaps his talent is surviving?”

“Most likely,” Kirumi says. “There is a high chance that perhaps his talent is along the lines of being the Ultimate Survivor.”

“That certainly does sound very interesting,” Kiyo puts a hand to his mouth. “I wonder if he was telling the truth about remembering his talent after all. Perhaps he simply did not wish to tell us about his talent, although I can’t fathom to think why. I would hardly consider it dangerous.”

Kirumi shakes her head. “Whilst that is true, having a talent of surviving could make him a target. If people had found out that he has a higher chance of surviving, they would go after him to make sure that the chances are higher for everyone else. Perhaps some people here would think it unfair that he has a higher chance of leaving than themselves. Maybe that’s why he hid his talent from everyone else; so he could keep himself safe.”

“That is a good point,” Kiyo nods. “Although we should consider the perk…”

“I think that Harukawa was correct about that being a trap,” Kirumi quickly says. “Whilst I disagree about who the mastermind is, I do think that the perk was a setup. It was a rather cruel one too.”

“It does explain why Amami has been rather desperate to leave,” Kiyo says. “Although I think the mastermind has been rather unfair to him lately. They have been singling him out for whatever reason.”

“Perhaps the mastermind already knew about Amami’s talent?” Kirumi suggests. “The mastermind had to be the one to trap us all here. It would be likely that they would know about Amami’s talent too. However, if they told the group this then they’d look suspicious themselves. Amami put them in a difficult situation by claiming he forgot his talent.”

“I see,” Kiyo closes his eyes. “Then perhaps Amami is a lot smarter than he lets on. Ah, how beautiful humanity is.”

Kirumi blinks at the same time Tsumugi pushes a trolley into the room. It’s stacked full of plates of cooked foods, bowls of rice, glasses full of juices and empty cups that are used for tea. She smiles as she starts to set up the table. 

“So I decided to make you both breakfast,” Tsumugi says. “And then make everyone else their breakfast afterwards so it’s warm! I personally can’t stand food that has been reheated! It’s plain disgusting.”

“I shall keep that in mind,” Kirumi says to herself. 

The former maid is a little surprised when Tsumugi takes a seat from across from herself and watches silently as she pours herself a cup of tea. When Tsumugi notices this, her eyes pinch shut as she smiles warmly. 

“Would you like a cup?”

“A-Ah, no thank you.”

“Shirogane,” Kiyo says. “You’re just in time to join in on our conversation. What do you think about Amami’s perk?”

“His perk?” Tsumugi pauses. “I never got the chance to see it.”

“You didn’t?” Kirumi asks. 

“No. I sat with Amami on the steps instead. He seemed a little down, so I thought I would go and comfort him! He must’ve been overwhelmed after finding out that he had almost been killed by the mastermind!”

“But we don’t know for certain whether Akamatsu is the mastermind,” Kirumi points out. Her cheeks have gone red but she isn’t sure why. However, she does find herself feeling irritated by Tsumugi’s words for whatever reason. “Monokuma didn’t confirm or deny it. From the way he worded things however, I feel confident in saying that she isn’t the mastermind.”

“Do you think so?” Tsumugi delicately swirls a spoon around her tea. “I would feel better knowing that we have captured the mastermind.”

“Whilst I would too,” Kiyo turns around as he changes his mask, “I feel less confident in Harukawa’s claims. She is after all, an assassin.”

“Right,” Tsumugi sheepishly looks down. “I really didn’t expect that, huh.”

“I too was shocked,” Kirumi closes her eyes. “To think that there has been an assassin among us all this time.”

“It is kind of scary,” Tsumugi shakes. “I wonder why she hates Akamatsu so much? Wouldn’t a killer want to befriend an almost killer?”

“I’m not sure that’s how friendships work,” Kiyo turns back around and flicks any loose hair behind his shoulders. “Whilst I cannot say for certain, perhaps that Harukawa is simply jealous of Akamatsu.”

“Jealous?” Kirumi puts a hand to her chin. “Why on earth would she be jealous?”

“To put it simply,” Kiyo explains, “after Akamatsu’s murder attempt, the group quickly accepted her back as the leader, correct? Perhaps Harukawa is jealous of Akamatsu because she got away with murder.”

“But she didn’t kill anyone,” Tsumugi points out. 

Kiyo shakes his head. “Whilst you are correct, Harukawa may have not seen it that way. She presumably kills people for a living and having to watch a group of strangers put their trust in someone who had almost killed would be rather frustrating, wouldn’t you think? Harukawa probably thinks that no one trusts her due to her talent so it would make sense she has a bone to pick with Akamatsu.”

“Oh! I never thought about it that way!” Tsumugi pushes her glasses up the bridge of her nose. “But I guess that makes sense!”

“So Harukawa is pushing her belief that Akamatsu is the mastermind due to her jealousy?” Kirumi concludes. 

“Perhaps,” Kiyo says. “I could also be completely wrong. There could be plenty of other reasons why.”

“But say you are correct,” Tsumugi quickly says, “then there’s probably a lower chance that Akamatsu is the mastermind!”

“That may be the case,” Kirumi agrees.

Tsumugi suddenly droops. “But we can’t rule her out completely, right? Only Amami received a perk. Akamatsu hasn’t mentioned anything about getting one. The whole reason Amami went to the library was because of what was on the perk. Akamatsu only went to kill him.”

“No, she went to kill who she thought was the mastermind,” Kirumi firmly says. 

“But the mastermind did lure Amami there,” Kiyo says. “Right now, it is understandable that we should be suspicious of Akamatsu. However, we should be suspicious of her because of Harukawa’s explanation, not Harukawa’s emotions. She did make a rather compelling point last night.”

Tsumugi shuffles nervously in her chair. “Oh dear…”

“Perhaps we should stop this conversation,” Kirumi reaches over to grab a bowl of fruit. “We won’t get anywhere right now. We should be focusing on trying to find a way out of this academy before another murder occurs.

“Ah, that’s right!” Tsumugi says brightly. 

“Agreed,” Kiyo shoves a piece of bread into his mouth and chews quietly. 

\---

Kaito knocks heavily on the door until his knuckles start to hurt.

“Come on, Maki! I know you’re in there!”

When he doesn’t get a response, he sighs heavily and goes back to knocking. He ignores the dull throb that starts to build up in his hand. He’s already exhausted one of his hands with knocking so he’s moved on to the next one. Kaito secretly hopes that Maki will actually open her bedroom door before this hand becomes completely numb. 

“I saw you go into your room!” Kaito continues. “I saw the door close behind you! Come on, I’m not mad or anything! I just want to talk!”

The door doesn’t open. Kaito knocks harder. His knuckles scream at him to stop but he refuses. He’s a hero goddamnit. It’s his job to make sure that his sidekicks are okay and Maki is definitely one of them whether she likes it or not. 

So, Kaito does what he does best. He continues to knock and knock and knock and knock and knock and knock and knock and knock and knock and knock and knock and knock and knock and knock and pause and knock and knock and knock and knock and knock and

“Will you stop it?”

Maki’s head pokes out from behind her door, which she holds firmly. Her red eyes look dull due to Maki having her bedroom lights off. She is refusing to look Kaito in the eye. 

“I’m trying to sleep.”

“Not anymore!”

Kaito barges into her room and due to her lack of resistance, Kaito figures that she has lost her original talent. He heavily sits onto her bed, creasing the duvet and grins up at her. Honestly, he’s not too surprised when all he gets in return is an expected frown. Still, he grins and acts like he doesn’t have a care in the world. 

“Go away.”

“No way! I’ve come here to talk.”

“I don’t want to. I have a headache. Go away.”

“You probably have a headache because you haven’t eaten yet!” Kaito points out. 

Maki’s eyes narrow. “Neither have you. You’ve been harassing me ever since that announcement. Maybe you should go and get something to eat before you keel over yourself.”

Kaito’s face scrunches up at her words. “I’m fine, Maki! I’ve come here to talk about you!”

“Well I don’t want to.”

As per usual, he ignores her. “So, whose talent did you get?”

“That’s what you want to talk about?” Maki asks incredulously. “Whose talent I have? I thought you’d be a lot more concerned about what happened last night.”

“Well, obviously,” Kaito grins, “I just...didn’t want to start with that.”

“Geez,” Maki crosses her arms. “You really are stupid. Why the hell are you being so nice to me after everything?”

“Because I understand why you did i-”

“You have no idea why I did it,” Maki’s voice rises. She can’t help herself. She’s furious. “Instead of pretending to care about everyone else’s problems maybe you should just deal with your own.”

Kaito’s genuine hurt face makes Maki want to slam her head through a wall. “But it’s my duty to look after all of my sidekicks! And last time I checked, you’re one of them!”

Maki shakes her head. Even after everything...this idiot. This stupid, dumb idiot. 

“Shouldn’t you be looking after Akamatsu?”

“She’s with Shuichi,” Kaito tells her. “She’ll be fine for now.”

Maki reaches to play with her hair only to remember that it’s now short. Instead, she runs a hand through it and causes her brown locks to press together messily. “Whatever…”

“Listen Maki,” Kaito sighs. “I’m not going to pretend what you did last night was okay. It really wasn’t. But when I make someone my sidekick, they’re gonna still be my sidekick until the very end. Just because you’ve given up on yourself doesn’t mean I haven’t given up on you.”

“I haven’t given up on myself…”

Kaito’s eyes light up. “Good! I know that things are going to be tense in the group right now but just stick with me! I’ll make sure that everything is fine. I’ll make the group understand why you did what you did. It’ll probably take a lot of convincing but we can do it, Maki! I believe in all of my sidekicks!”

Maki’s fingers twitch. “And Akamatsu?”

“Well,” Kaito rubs the back of his head. “Of course you should apologise to her. Like I said, what you did wasn’t okay but...things could’ve been a lot worse. Actually, you should come train with us all tonight! It’ll be me, you, Kaede and Shuichi! I’ll give you some time to think of an apology!”

“I never said I was going.”

“And I never said you could miss it!” Kaito grins. “You’ll train with me! Kaito Momota, Luminary of the Stars!”

“You’re not going to shut up until I say I’m going,” Maki sighs.

Kaito puts a thumb up. “You are absolutely correct!”

Reluctantly, Maki agrees. “Only because I don’t want you bothering me all day,” she murmurs.

“Yeah, yeah,” Kaito looks pleased with himself. “Now, I’m off to find whoever has my talent! They’re gonna love knowing so much stuff about space!”

Kaito dashes out of the room before Maki can stop him. She sighs heavily. She never got the chance to tell him that she has his talent. Maki wonders how long it’ll take him to figure out that she’s the one who has it.

\---

The piano key is pressed softly.

Shuichi nervously looks over at Kaede, who is sat by the window. She blinks slowly with her head on the cool glass, seemingly looking at nothing in particular. Her posture suggests that she is calm but the hunching of her shoulders is expertly hidden. Kaede is...she’s not sure how she’s feeling. Her neck sorely reminds her of the events of last night and her aching back reminds her of where she had slept. 

Despite trying her best by bringing blankets and pillows, Kirumi wasn’t fully able to make Kaede truly feel comfortable. The room she had slept in was undoubtedly creepy. Kaede is only thankful that they were able to keep the room lit by lighting one of the candles. However, the candle didn’t provide enough warmth to stop the relentless cold draft that seemingly kept coming out of nowhere during odd intervals. 

She traces a finger over her bruises and stares at them in the reflection of the window. Kaede hates the weird feeling of deja vu that she’s experiencing. It’s almost like she had been choked once before but she can’t put a finger on it. 

How bad of a leader is she to have let the group fall apart this badly? Sure, Kaede knows that she certainly has a dominating personality but she always only wants what is best for everyone. She had never wanted anyone to die yet she feels the pressure of Kiibo’s, Gonta’s and Ryoma’s death weighs heavily on her shoulders. 

It’s even heavier than the weight of a backpack with a shot put ball inside. 

Some leader she is. Kaede’s face crumples. 

“Um,” Shuichi stops playing the piano. “If this song is too sad I can always play you another one?”

Kaede shakes her head. “It’s fine,” she softly says. 

She knows Shuichi heard her because he spares her one last look before continuing. Clair de Lune. What a pretty song. 

It might be one of her favourite songs. It’s so peaceful and warm. Listening to it just takes you on a journey. Whilst Kaede is sad knowing that she won’t be able to play the piano for a while, she’s glad that Shuichi was the one to get her talent. At least he’ll play songs for her. Even though she no longer is the Ultimate Pianist right now, she can still appreciate good music. 

Kaede flexes her fingers. She decides that fate is cruel. Out of all the talents she could’ve been given it had to be that one. The Ultimate Assassin. Kaede swallows. 

She doesn’t hear Shuichi stop playing. She’s too busy hugging her legs to her chest and watching the sky even though she really isn’t paying much attention to it. 

Kaede jumps when she realises that Shuichi is sitting across from her on the floor. He quietly joins her with her window watching. There’s not much to look at really. Kaede is pretty sure that what they’re looking at isn’t too real and is just tasteful decoration. Still, it’s nice to pretend that they’re not stuck inside a school for a couple of moments. 

“Does your neck still hurt?” Shuichi asks, his eyes flickering down to the purple bruises before back to the window. 

“Yeah,” Kaede says. Whilst it hurts to speak, she tries. 

“I…” Shuichi fumbles with his hat. “I’m sorry that happened.”

“It’s not your fault,” Kaede frowns. “I don’t think anyone expected Harukawa to do that.”

Shuichi makes a quiet noise of agreement. “Sorry.”

“You don’t need to keep apologising,” Kaede brings herself to smile. “I just...brought all this on myself, I guess.”

“Akamatsu, you didn’t do anything,” Shuichi insists. “What Harukawa did was horrible!”

“Can you blame her?” Kaede asks. “She’s an assassin. Of course she’s going to go after people she hates.”

“She has no reason to hate you,” Shuichi says. “You’ve only been helping the group since day one. It isn’t fair that she’s singling you out.”

Kaede helplessly shrugs. “She was just trying to get rid of a threat…”

“No that’s wrong!” Shuichi adamantly shakes his head. “Akamatsu, you’re the leader. You’ve been doing what you think is best for the group! Not everyone is going to agree with you but that doesn’t mean that you should be killed. Harukawa is in the wrong for not only hiding her talent but also going after you with little to no evidence. She only thinks you’re the mastermind because she wants you to be the mastermind.”

Kaede grimly smiles. “Even if you are right, maybe I should step down as leader. I’ve let so many people die already.”

Then, Shuichi pauses. “That’s also wrong…”

Kaede raises an eyebrow. “Saihara, what are you on about? I wasn’t quick enough to do anything about the time limit so Kiibo died. When I failed to do anything about the videos I killed both Gonta and Hoshi. I’m such a useless leader.”

“Kiibo blew himself up to save us all,” Shuichi says softly, “and you couldn’t have known about Gonta and Hoshi. You’re not responsible for any of their deaths. But…”

“If you blame yourself for Hoshi’s death I’ll be really angry,” Kaede huffs. “It definitely wasn’t your fault. Monokuma is the who made us have that stupid class trial. It’s horrible but it was either him or us. Hoshi chose us, you know that.”

Shuichi doesn’t respond. He leans his head against the window. 

“God,” Kaede lets out a watery laugh, “everything is such a mess.”

“Maybe Momota would’ve been a better person to go to,” Shuichi says, “I’m not really good at comforting.”

“No,” Kaede shakes her head. “You’re doing just fine.”

And that’s the truth. 

Even when Kaede feels the tears start to build up in her eyes and sting, she believes in her truth. She’s surprised when she feels something press gently over her head and glances up to see Shuichi’s hat on top of her head. He offers her a small smile as he presses it down. 

“I think you need this more than me right now,” he says. “U-Um, not because you want to hide or anything. It’s just...I find it really comforting.”

Kaede feels along the brim of the cap. It’s slightly worn but overall, the hat is comfortable. She sniffs and goes to wipe the tears from her eyes before they can actually fall. 

“Thank you, Saihara.”

“I-It’s fine!”

“I promise I’ll give it back later.” Kaede takes a deep breath. “But y-yeah, I do think I need it right now.”

“Have it as long as you need,” Shuichi offers. He tries to sort of his hair that is currently a wild mess. There is one insistent strand of hair that refuses to stay down as much as Shuichi tries to tame it. When he pouts at his failure, Kaede is unable to smother her laughter.

\---

He’s going to die. His back is pressed up against the wall and he closes his eyes as a shadow looms over him. There’s no way that he’s getting out of this situation alive because of what he is. It’s unforgivable. 

Rantaro feels sweat trickle down his face as the figure gets closer to him, their face almost pressing against his angrily. He gulps when he hears them start to growl and make rather strange animalistic noises. He’s so sorry. He never meant for this to happen. He had no control over the situation. It’s not his fault that fate just seems to hate him. 

“Grrr!”

“C-Can we just talk this out?”

“Grrraaagh!”

He’s going to die.

“Chabashira,” Rantaro whimpers. “It’s really not my fault!”

“Of course it is you degenerate!” she cries. “If Tenko could still do her neo-aikido then you’d be really sorry! How could you even think of doing such a horrible thing!”

“Um,” Himiko blinks lazily. “I really don’t think it’s his fault.”

“Don’t be fooled, Yumeno!” Tenko whips her head around and smacks Rantaro in the face with one of her pigtails. “He stole your talent! There’s no way that Tenko will let him get away with this! Now you can’t do your magic show and Tenko knows that you were really looking forward to doing it!”

Himiko slouches across the table in her lab. Next to her feet is a tophat and a magic wand. Currently, they’re of no use to her. “I don’t think you have to kill him though. That would be too much effort.”

Tenko’s eyes narrow as her head snaps back to glare furiously at Rantaro. “Did you hear that you male? Tenko is only sparing you because Yumeno has such a kind heart! You should thank her for her generous personality!”

“T-Thank you, Yumeno,” Rantaro manages to say. It’s rather hard to speak when an angry girl is glaring daggers at you. He smiles helplessly when she finally backs away from him. 

Himiko plants her face down onto her table. “It’s okay,” she says, although she sounds rather muffled. “You can just do the magic show instead. I like watching them too.”

At this, Tenko’s eyes light up intensely. “Did you hear that, degenerate?” she asks. “Yumeno has ever so nicely asked you to put a show on for her! Whilst Tenko despises that you have stolen her talent, she has no choice but to help you put on a show for Yumeno! Look at her face, she’s so excited for this!”

Rantaro can’t look at her face because it’s still crushed up against the table. He awkwardly nods along to Tenko’s words. He’ll do anything to keep her happy at the moment. Even without her ability to do aikido, he feels that she’ll be able to kick his ass to next week if he disappoints Himiko. However, it’s not like he wants to disappoint the tiny girl either.

“S-So shall I do the underwater escape trick?” Rantaro quickly asks. “You’ll have to teach me how to do it-”

“No,” Himiko lifts her head up and firmly hits the table with her fist. “That’s impossible. It’s magic. All you need is magic.”

“R-Right.”

“Amami! Don’t tell me you don’t believe in Yumeno?” Tenko gasps. 

“O-Of course I do!” Rantaro sweats. “I-I’m still...adjusting to her talent. It’s a lot different to what I expected.”

“What did you expect?” Himiko suddenly asks. Her face is starting to go red. 

“Well, Amami?” Tenko puts her hands on her hips. 

“I-I...really don’t know.”

Himiko takes in a deep breath. “It’s magic, it’s magic, it’s magic, it’s magic, it’s magic, it’s magic, it’s magic, it’s magic, it’s magic, it’s magic, it’s magic, it’s magic, it’s magic, it’s magic, it’s magic, it’s magic, it’s magic, it’s magic, it’s magic, it's magic, it's magic, it's magic, it's magic, it's magic, it's magic, it's magic, it's magic, it's magic, it's magic, it's magic, it's magic, it's magic...”

Rantaro falters as he listens to the small girl quickly repeat herself as her face turns a brighter shade of red. Tenko blinks at Himiko before nodding her head as if she truly understands Himiko. 

“Yes, it’s magic,” Rantaro says, desperate to appease the girl. 

Himiko nods in satisfaction before putting her head back down on the table. “Even though I’m no longer a mage I need to recharge my mana. Wake me up when you start your performance.”

“Of course, Yumeno!” Tenko says. 

Rantaro is amazed at Himiko’s ability to quickly fall asleep. He hears light snores coming from the ex mage as soon as her head hits the table. Tenko glares at him before putting a finger to her lips. She rather dramatically tip toes across the room to grab a cloak that it hung up and tucks it over the sleeping girl. 

“You,” Tenko whispers harshly, “need to go to the gym to practice for the show! Tenko will wake Yumeno up in an hour so that she can watch it!”

“An hour?” Rantaro feels nervous. “I don’t think that’s enough time-”

“Are you doubting Yumeno’s talent?” Tenko blinks. “Yumeno is a powerful mage! Her talent is unbeatable! Tenko thinks that Amami is stupid if he is unable to grasp Yumeno’s talent! Now shoo! If you wake Yumeno up I’ll be super angry!”

Rantaro scrambles out of the lab quickly, not wanting to face the wrath of Tenko. Whilst leaving, he fails to spot Angie. The two hit into each other and the girl yelps as she falls to the floor. Rantaro instantly offers her a hand, which she surprisingly takes. However, what Rantaro didn’t expect was Angie’s sudden panic. 

“Rantaro!” Angie cries. He’s suddenly filled with dread. What if she’s found another body? “Angie can’t find her talent! Have you got her talent? Please! Angie needs it!”

The distress in her voice is real. Angie firmly holds onto his wrist and looks up at him with begging eyes. “S-Sorry, I have Yumeno’s talent.”

“Oh no,” Angie throws his wrist away. “Oh no, oh no, oh no, oh no, oh no-”

“Angie do you not know who has your talent?”

“Of course not!” Angie wails. “That’s why Angie is looking! It’s very important that Angie finds her talent because without it Angie can’t hear...Angie can’t…”

Angie shakes her head, causing her silver pigtails to bob back and forth. It’s clear that she is highly upset. She pushes past Rantaro and forcefully knocks Himiko’s lab door into the wall.

Tenko instantly snaps her head up and is ready to yell at whoever burst into the room but pauses when she spots Angie. Rantaro can’t help but feel wounded when Tenko doesn’t yell at the girl but instead goes to her side to help her. He’s sure that if he had been the one to open the doors in such a way, Tenko would find a way to get her talent back and flip him across the school. 

“A-Angie, what’s wrong?” Tenko puts her arm around Angie’s shoulders and helps her sit down on a chair. “Are you hurt! Tenko still knows some basic first aid!”

“Do you have Angie’s talent?” Angie asks instead. “Angie lost her talent when the bears swapped them this morning and she can’t find who has it! It’s really important that Angie finds her talent because she needs it!”

“Ah! Tenko thinks that she has your talent,” Tenko quickly says, “Tenko has been wanting to do some painting all morning but-”

“How divine!” Angie begins to tug on Tenko’s arm. “Hurry! We must head to Angie’s lab and start preparations right away! Since Tenko has Angie’s talent, she of course must join the student council right away-”

“Student council?” Tenko blinks. “What’s that?”

“Oh! Angie never got to explain!” Angie excitedly says. “Atua told Angie that there’s been too much greed going on in the academy! So Angie thought that she should make a student council so that she can have a better control of the school!”

“Control?” Tenko pauses. “Tenko doesn’t think having lots of control is a good idea. We’ve already got Akamatsu as our leader…”

“But she’s failed the group!” Angie declares. “Angie thinks she’s done a terrible job! She’s already let three people die under her watch and failed to figure out that there’s an assassin in our group!”

“I-It’s not Akamatsu’s fault that Harukawa hid her talent from us,” Tenko hesitantly points out. 

Angie shakes her head. “Tenko isn’t thinking properly. We can’t have a leader who is bad at their job! So, Angie is going to create a student council so that everyone here can live peacefully! Angie has already decided some people that she thinks is worthy to join her council! Both you and Himiko are welcome to join!”

Himiko lifts her head off the table. “I’m trying to sleep…”

“You can sleep later!” Angie rushes over to the smaller girl. “Angie thinks that you should be with her right now! Wouldn’t you like that, Himiko?”

“I would like to sleep,” Himiko says firmly. 

“See, Himiko is perfect for the council!” Angie clasps her hands together. “She has no desire to harm anyone!”

“Of course she doesn’t!” Tenko cries. “Yumeno would never hurt a fly!”

“Once when a fly landed on me, I hit it because it was annoying me,” Himiko murmurs. 

“W-Well it was probably a male fly!”

“Come, come!” Angie somehow manages to pull Himiko to her feet. “We can discuss things more in Angie’s lab! But, Angie is going to need Tenko’s help! Atua can only speak to me through art so if Tenko is really serious about wanting to keep the school safe, she should come with me.”

Tenko freezes. Rantaro watches as she hesitates before following Angie and Himiko out of the room. 

“Oh!” Angie smiles up at Rantaro. “There will have to a vote about letting you in the council. Angie isn’t sure that you can be trusted yet. Rantaro did lie to the entire group about something super important!”

Her words hit Rantaro as if he’s been punched in the stomach. Angie skips away from him rather happily whilst dragging Himiko along with her. Tenko trials behind the two with more hesitant footsteps. 

Rantaro silently heads to the gym and stands in front of the tank of water. Truthfully, he doesn’t really know how the trick works but figures that he can probably work it out soon enough. Rantaro climbs above the tank and peers inside.

Ah, there’s a small trap door that opens from behind the stage. All he needs to do is actually jump inside the tank and then climb into the hidden room. Then, all he needs to do is wait until the timer is finished and let all the piranhas drop for extra tension. Once people start to worry, he’ll reveal himself. 

He can’t help but feel a little disappointed about his attire. He’s simply just wearing his normal clothes and they definitely don’t look magical. It’s too late to go and find out who the new cosplayer is too. Rantaro needs to practice.

The water is unfortunately cold as he dips his hand into it. With a sigh, he jumps into the water, holding his nose as his head goes underwater. Rantaro is glad that he’s the type who is able to keep their eyes open underwater. He quickly finds the hatch for the hidden door and squeezes inside the cramped space.

When he leaves the space, he’s dripping wet. Rantaro snatches up one of the towels that has been left on the steps and starts to dry himself up. It’s only then he realises that he actually needs to have another spare towel and another set of clothing to change into to make the trick more realistic. He internally yells at himself for forgetting such basic things and wraps the towel around himself as he decides that he needs to find some new clothing to change into. 

Rantaro jumps when he hears clapping and stops mid step when he spots Kiyo and Kirumi standing by the door. Kiyo claps his hands gently whilst Kirumi smiles when she sees Rantaro. 

“I suppose you are now the Ultimate Magician,” Kiyo says. 

“Ultimate Mage,” Rantaro quickly corrects him. He imagines Tenko busting the gym doors down just to correct them all. 

“Ah yes, my apologies,” Kiyo responds. “But still, what a wonderful trick. Will you be performing for us in the place of Yumeno?”

“That’s right,” Rantaro adjusts the towel on his shoulders. “I just need to grab some things before I can actually start the real show.”

“And dry off before you get a cold,” Kirumi says. “That water must be freezing.”

“It was,” Rantaro sighs. 

The two offer to walk him to the dorms so that he can grab new clothing and some towels from his room. He gratefully accepts their offer but still feels rather awkward. They haven’t brought up anything about last night and how he had been lying to the group. Rantaro isn’t a confrontational person but he’d rather have problems solved then ignored. He clears his throat. 

“Um…”

“Is everything okay, Amami?” Kiyo asks. 

“It’s just,” he pauses, “about last night…”

“Ah yes,” Kiyo closes his eyes, “last night was rather hectic. I must say I’m glad I wasn’t the one Harukawa was after.”

“I don’t think Amami was hinting about that,” Kirumi softly says. 

“Yes, right,” Kiyo clears his throat. “Do you wish to talk about your perk?”

“If that’s okay,” Rantaro murmurs. He feels droplets of water trickle down his back from his hair. 

“If you are worried about us disliking you because you hid it,” Kirumi says, “then you shouldn’t. Whilst I’ll never understand how you felt, I am sure that it must of been a shock receiving it.”

“I woke up with it,” Rantaro quietly explains. “After I read it I...it’s hard to explain.”

“You mustn’t force yourself to talk about it if you don’t want to,” Kiyo says. “Whilst we are surprised that you hid it from us, we can’t exactly blame you. The motive clearly was made to make you feel paranoid and it worked. I suppose what you should do now is try to make yourself comfortable here. But do not be alarmed, I’m sure Tojo will agree with me when I say that the two of us will help you.”

Rantaro feels something warm. “Thank you…”

“Right now it is important that our group stays united,” Kirumi says. “In order to let everyone survive, we can’t doubt each other now. Harukawa proved last night that it is dangerous for people to simply act on their own. She clearly had no issues with trying to take down Akamatsu.”

“It is rather daunting having an assassin in the mix,” Kiyo agrees. “Whatever shall we do with her? I admit I don’t feel comfortable with her around.”

“But she also doesn’t have her talent currently,” Kirumi points out.

“I think for now,” Rantaro says, “we just leave her be. Before last night she hadn’t done anything to harm the group. I know I sound rather biased right now but...it isn’t fair if we start excluding people from the group just because of their talent.”

“But she is an assassin, correct?” Kiyo’s eyes widen. “Aren’t you afraid that she might hurt someone again?”

“If we antagonize her then perhaps,” Rantaro says, “but she’s also in the same situation as us. Last night she was only doing what she thought was best for the group.”

“And that was to kill Akamatsu,” Kirumi fiddles with her glove. “What if she lashes out at someone again?”

“I think Momota is currently sorting that out,” Rantaro explains. “He’s been rather...persistent with her. He’s been pushing for her to tell everyone about her talent.”

“I see. So Momota was the one to receive her motive video,” Kiyo says. “So he’d been trying to make Harukawa confess?”

“The both of us actually,” Rantaro says. “Both Harukawa and I...didn’t really want to reveal our talents just yet.”

“You haven’t actually revealed yours personally,” Kirumi says. “But Shinguji and I have been discussing it this morning. Your talent is related to your perk video, correct?”

“That’s...right.”

“I see, so I am correct in presuming that perhaps you are the Ultimate Survivor?” Kirumi asks. 

“You figured that out rather quickly,” Rantaro droops. 

“It really wasn’t that difficult to put together after seeing your perk,” Kiyo explains. “It wouldn’t be far fetched to presume that everyone else will figure it out. Although, due to your circumstances I’d think that everyone will understand why you lied to the group. Harukawa on the other hand...I’m not so sure that everyone will be so forgiving.”

Kirumi flicks her hair out of her face. “It’s not about being forgiving at the moment. As long as the group doesn’t start killing each other we should be fine.”

“Let us hope so,” Kiyo says. “Ah, it seems that we have reached your room. We shall wait outside for you, Amami.”

Rantaro quickly dives into his room and swaps out his clothing. He quickly grabs another spare set and a towel to put behind the stage. He wraps his clothing inside the towel and leaves the room after making sure he has locked his door. 

He is pleasantly surprised to see that the two of them had waited for him. Rantaro feels comfortable as the group of three start to walk back to the gym. When they reach half way, Kiyo stops in his tracks. 

“Shouldn’t we bring chairs with us? I noticed that there wasn’t any there and I don’t plan on standing around,” he says. 

“That is a good point,” Kirumi says. “I think Shirogane is still in the dining room. I shall ask her to take the chairs to the gym.”

“I’m surprised that you didn’t offer to do that yourself,” Kiyo says. 

Kirumi smiles. “I intend on helping her of course. I simply do not trust myself to carry enough on my own at this moment of time.”

“Right,” Rantaro nods. He waves goodbye as Kirumi splits away to head to the dining hall.

The gym has a couple of people inside when the two of them arrive. Shuichi and Kaede stand off to the side. Kaede offers the two of them a shy wave before ducking under her hat. She seems rather happy when both Kiyo and Rantaro wave back at her. 

“Um!” Kaede dashes forwards. “I-I would actually like to say something before the show starts!”

“Are you sure?” Kiyo asks. “Your voice sounds rather weak.”

“Saihara will help me,” Kaede explains. “B-But before the show starts, I would like to clear some things up. I know that not a lot of people here trust me right now but as the leader, I need to make things right.”

“That...should be fine,” Rantaro says. “But I also think that Angie wants to say something too...although I’m a little worried about what her intentions are.”

“Whatever do you mean?” Kiyo asks. 

Rantaro looks at Kiyo and then at Kaede. “She’s, um, set up a student council of some sort. I’m not completely sure what her intentions are but...I think that we should all just be careful just in case.”

“That does sound concerning,” Kiyo hums. “Then so be it. Thank you for the warning, Amami.”

“No problem.”

Kaede shoots Rantaro a worried smile before scurrying back to Shuichi’s side. She hastily whispers something in his ear and he nods along. Once she’s done, he starts to frown.

The gym doors burst open and Tsumugi hobbles in carrying an impressive amount of chairs that are stacked way over her head. Rantaro stares with wide eyes as she rushes to the center of the room and dumps the pile on the floor with a relieved sigh. Kirumi follows in afterwards carrying only two chairs which she easily places on the floor. 

“Wow, those were heavy!” Tsumugi sighs. “I’m not used to doing so much work.”

“You’ll get used to it.” Kirumi doesn’t sound too sympathetic. 

The ex maid sits down gracefully on the chair that she placed and Kiyo is quick to slide onto the one next to her. He straightens his back as he tries to get comfortable. 

Rantaro watches as the room starts to fill up with students slowly. Shuichi and Kaede take front row seats whilst Tsumugi decides to sit directly in front of the stage and thus Rantaro himself. When Tenko arrive she all but runs towards the front and claims the last two front seats for herself and Himiko, who yawns as she sits down. 

The doors open once more and Miu walks in with Kokichi, the latter holding onto...her hand? Rantaro blinks as Kokichi walks over with her to the seats. He instructs her where to sit and even goes as far as to push the chair forwards so that she can sit down on it. However, as she lowers herself down onto the seat, Kokichi snatches it away. Ah, that’s much more like him. Miu topples to the ground and starts to scream bloody murder. Kokichi only cackles in response. 

Angie happily leaps into the room on her own and takes a seat next to Miu, who has finally managed to sit on a chair without problem. The ex artist taps Tenko on the shoulder and starts to talk to her excitedly. 

Then, Kaito and Maki arrive. Maki looks at the room and then at Kaito. 

“I don’t think I should be here…”

“Um, Angie totally disagrees,” Angie suddenly says. “Angie thinks that everyone should be here!”

“I agree,” Kaede says.

“Akamatsu,” Shuichi sounds worried, “are you sure you want to be around her?”

“I’ll be fine,” Kaede squeezes his hand. “Don’t worry. I’ve got you if I need any help!”

Kaito leads Maki to the last two seats. When she’s about to sit down, Kokichi decides to kick up a rather loud fuss.

“Momota! Don’t trap me in between a murderer and a crazy person!” Kokichi’s eyes dart between Maki and Angie. “Why are you so mean to me! Do you want me to be killed that badly! Momota, I thought you loved me?!”

The glare Maki shoots Kokichi causes Kaito to quickly slide into the seat next to him instead. Maki huffs and sits at the end of the row behind Shuichi. 

“Tenko thinks that’s everyone!” Tenko counts everyone. “Yep! So come on! Yumeno is super excited to watch some magic!”

“I’ll try not to disappoint you all,” Rantaro says. He wants to try his absolute best for everyone. Especially Himiko. 

Angie quickly sticks her hand up in the air. “Before we start the show, Angie has a quick announcement that she wants to make-”

“Ah, about that,” Rantaro feels bad for interrupting her. However, he’s also rather nervous to be around Angie at the moment. Her judging eyes make him want to cower. “Akamatsu actually wanted to say something herself.”

“Of course she does,” Maki mutters. She’s more than surprised when Kaito lightly elbows her. Not enough that it hurts her but enough to tell her to be quiet without using words. 

Kaede ignores the comment and pulls Shuichi up to the stage with her. The lighting of the room shows off her necklace of bruises that look rather horrifying. She stands by the fish tank and swallows before adjusting Shuichi’s hat so that it doesn’t completely cover her face. 

“Last night,” her voice wobbles. She clears her throat and tries again. “W-We are all aware that something...happened last night. As it still stands I am still the leader of this group so it is my responsibility to follow up on incidents like these. As all of you know, there has been the claim of me being the mastermind made last night. I know that it may be difficult to believe me right now but I promise you that isn’t the case. I really am not the mastermind.”

Kaede rubs her throat. It’s starting to ache. Her eyebrows furrow together. “Akamatsu has done nothing but try to help us escape.” Kaede’s mouth falls open as she watches the ex detective speak. “She already knows that she messed up once but her relation to her trying to stop the mastermind at the start of the game has nothing to do with her being the mastermind. Whilst people can make a link, there’s no strong evidence to suggest that she actually is the mastermind. Akamatsu has been my friend since the first day here so I’d like to think I know her better than anyone else. She’s kind and...optimistic. I really, really trust her.”

The ex pianist is beaming. “S-So I want to be able to prove myself one last time. I know that I’ve already been given so many chances but I know if I try just a little bit harder I can get everyone out of here! We need to stay united as a group! T-That’s why...that’s why...Harukawa!”

Maki’s head snaps up. 

“We’ve obviously had some ups and downs but...we’re still in the same group,” Kaede takes a deep breath. “I don’t think I’ll be able to ever understand you but you’re still one of us even if you keep trying to act like it. I’ve thought things through last night and...I think I understand you. It wasn’t me you were after was it? It was the mastermind. A-And if there is one thing I do understand, it is the desire to just get rid of them. I’m really, really sorry that I’m not the mastermind but I’d like to work together to find them. Harukawa! Please help me find the mastermind!”

The ex assassin freezes in her chair. Everyone in the room is looking at her. She desperately wants to hide behind her hair but she can’t. She abruptly stands up but is forced to sit back down when Kaito pulls her back into her seat. 

“Come on, Makiroll!” He smiles at her encouragingly. “If Kaede has the guts to try and fix things then maybe you should as well!”

“It’s different,” she hastily says. 

“Huh? How so?” Kaito asks. 

Maki’s eyes discreetly hover over to Kaede before she looks down at her lap. She can feel everyone’s eyes burn into her. They don’t understand. No one does. This isn’t how things are supposed to be. When an assassin fails their job they are punished. Having her target just reach out like this...it’s insulting.

Kaede smiles hopefully on the stage. She adjusts Shuichi’s hat just a little so it’s more comfortable. 

“Um, Angie thinks this is touching and all but she also wants to talk about her announcement,” Angie says.

“Just wait a sec,” Kaito says, “Maki hasn’t answered yet.”

“But this is about Maki! And Kaede!” Angie announces.

She hops onto the stage and spreads her arms out wide. 

“Like, Angie has been thinking these last few days and has asked Atua for help! So, Angie has decided to start up a student council to keep things safe,” Angie explains. 

“That’s great and all but,” Tsumugi scratches the top of her head. “What has this got to do with Akamatsu and Harukawa?”

“Silly!” Angie claps her hands together. “Now that we have the student council we don’t need a leader!”

“Woah! Hold on a second!” Kaito splutters. “What’s going on?!”

“So, like, Angie has been trying to think of a way to keep everyone safe and the best option was to start up her own student council!” Angie bobs her head from side to side. “Because Kaede hasn’t done a really good job keeping everyone safe and also because she thinks siding with assassins is safe for the group!”

“Wow! I totally agree!” Kokichi’s eyes shine. “Akamatsu really has been making stupid decisions lately!”

“Why you…” Kaito’s fist trembles. 

Angie presses her hands into her cheeks. “Ah! You agree, Kokichi! That is wonderful! Angie didn’t expect you of all people to understand her! Angie thought you were a troublesome liar but it seems Angie was wrong!”

Kokichi winks. “You really need to be careful about judging a book by it’s cover. Or places full of books in general. You never know what might fall from one.”

“Ouma, quit bringing that shit up!” Kaito glares at the smaller boy.

Kokichi isn’t fazed as he slides out of his seat and heads up to the stage. “So is anyone free to join this student council?”

“Only those who Angie deems worthy!” Angie smiles. “Would Kokichi like to join?”

“But of course!” Kokichi eagerly agrees. “Where do I sign?”

“Silly! There’s no signing! Only love!” Kokichi is clearly startled when Angie hugs him. He’s tense the entire time Angie holds him. She ruffles his hair and lets him go. “Angie warmly welcomes you to her student council!”

“Hey, wait a moment!” Kaito stands up and knocks a chair over. “We all haven’t agreed about this! I don’t want this school to be run by some council! We’re doing fine with Kaede!”

“Um, but Kaede has let,” Angie counts on her fingers, “three people die? That’s a lot of precious people gone just like that. If we have the student council then a whole group of people can keep everyone safe!”

“An entire group?” Tsumugi blinks. “That certainly does sound a lot more safe…”

“I see! Tsumugi, would you like to join Angie’s council too?”

“U-Um,” Tsumugi hesitantly glances around the room. “Yeah, I think I would.”

“Shirogane, you can’t be serious!” Kaito shakes his head in disbelief. “What about Kaede?!”

“Sorry, Momota,” Tsumugi bows her head down. “But Angie is right. So many people have died already. How many more chances can we give Akamatsu until she gets the entire group killed?”

“She won’t let the entire group die!” Shuichi sounds shocked. “Akamatsu had no control over any of the deaths so far.”

“If Kaede is such a good leader then there should’ve been no deaths,” Angie points out. “Kaede has failed to eliminate all reason to leave this academy! If we all just accept what we have already then we can turn this academy into a paradise! We have shelter, beds, food! What more could you possibly ask for?”

“To leave this place,” Maki responds lowly.

“Nope! Angie was told that wanting to leave will only cause temptation!” Angie explains. “So who else wants to join my council!”

“She’s insane!” Kaito breathes out, helplessly sitting down on Kokichi’s seat.

“Tenko, you’re apart of the council right?” Himiko asks. 

“Angie told me I had to be apart of it,” Tenko says. “Although Tenko doesn’t actually-”

“Then I’ll join too,” Himiko says. “I guess.”

“O-Oh!” Tenko’s cheeks flush. “Tenko sees! Tenko will make sure that she’ll protect Yumeno then!”

“That’s still only five people,” Maki points out. “That’s less than half.”

“I-I haven’t voted yet!” Miu suddenly says. “A-And I just want the safest option.”

“And that’s with the student council!” Angie declares. “Come, Miu! Angie thinks you’ll fit right in!”

“That’s still under half!” Kaito realises triumphantly. 

“Um, but here’s the thing,” Angie suddenly announces. “Since Maki is a killer and all she doesn’t get a vote because Angie doesn’t think that there’s actually a place for her here.”

Maki’s head jolts as if she’s been slapped. Her lips go tight.

“Wait a fucking second!” Kaito snaps. “That’s not fair-”

“Angie, that’s horrible!” Kaede shakes her head. “Harukawa is a person too-”

“And Kaede’s vote doesn’t count because she’ll just vote for herself.”

“You’re voting for yourself!” Kaito argues. “What bullshit logic is this?!”

“Momota,” Tsumugi says softly. “I don’t really think you understand Angie.”

“Too right I don’t,” he angrily retorts. “She’s still got less than half of the votes because we’re including Maki!”

“So Angie just needs one more person?” Angie puts a finger to her lips. “Ah ha! Kirumi, you want to join us right?”

“Whilst I understand what you’re trying to do,” Kirumi says, “I would still like to leave the school. I’ll have to decline your offer.”

“Oh, that’s a shame,” Angie’s smile turns frosty. “Angie really is running out of options but that’s okay! Kaito just doesn’t understand that Maki doesn’t count as a person! So...Angie wins!”

“Fucking hell!” Kaito runs a hand down his face. “What the shit…”

“Aw, don’t worry Momota!” Kokichi blows him a kiss. “I’ll make sure to keep you safe!”

Maki harshly stands up from her chair, causing it to scrap across the floor and echo loudly. Without a word, she turns away from Angie and walks out of the room. Kaito quickly follows after her, calling her name.

“Oh well,” Angie shrugs her shoulders. “Some people just don’t understand right away. Now, shall we start with the magic show? Angie is looking forward to it!”

“Angie,” Shuichi shakes his head in disbelief. “How could you say such mean things?”

“Oh Shuichi,” she squeezes one of his hands as he passes her. “Angie wasn’t being mean, Angie was telling the truth. It’s such a shame that you’ve been brainwashed to think otherwise.”

“You have a harsh way of talking about the truth then,” Kiyo quietly comments. 

Rantaro awkwardly stands by the tank. What should he do? 

“Okay!” Angie takes her seat. “So Rantaro can start the show now! The piranhas are looking super duper hungry so make sure you don’t fail!”

The curtain is pulled across the tank and Rantaro takes a deep breath and jumps into the water. For a second, he feels safe. Nothing can hurt him whilst he’s underwater. He can just hide away from everyone. 

Rantaro reluctantly heads into the secret chamber and heads to the backstage. He watches the box of piranhas drop into the bottom tank as he quickly dries himself, roughly drying his hair to the best of his ability. When he hears people start to comment about his well being, he heads out of his hiding place. 

Rantaro feels cold when he notices Kaede and Shuichi have left the room.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm putting these notes here because they're spoilers for this chapter. I know some people aren't too keen on talent swaps but I promise you that they do play a big role in this part of the story. The talents aren't swapped forever, just for this segment of the story. I'll make it clear when the talents are swapped 
> 
> Thank you for reading!


	13. Chapter 13

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm so sorry for the wait! I'll admit, I lost motivation to write for a while. Thankfully I've found my motivation again!
> 
> Also thank you so much for over 100 kudos! I'm super happy that people are actually really enjoying this story. I know there has been quite a few rewrites but I've always enjoyed reading them and felt inspired to write my own! I'm so thankful that people are enjoying my writing!
> 
> I'll put up a list of the new talents here! I'm sorry I forgot last time!
> 
> Rantaro - Ultimate Magician
> 
> Kaede -Ultimate Assassin 
> 
> Kaito -Ultimate Detective
> 
> Maki -Ultimate Astronaut
> 
> Kirumi -Ultimate Survivor
> 
> Kiyo - Ultimate Aikido Master 
> 
> Himiko - Ultimate Anthropologist
> 
> Angie - Ultimate Supreme Leader
> 
> Miu - Ultimate Cosplayer
> 
> Kokichi - Ultimate Inventor 
> 
> Shuichi - Ultimate Pianist 
> 
> Tsumugi - Ultimate Maid 
> 
> Tenko - Ultimate Artist 
> 
> Thank you for reading!

“Who the hell does she think she is?”

Kaito kicks the ground angrily, knocking dust up into the air. 

“Momota, calm down,” Maki says. “You’ll end up hurting yourself if you keep acting like this.”

“But she,” Kaito throws his hands up, “is being completely unreasonable! Aren’t you angry about what she said about you?! Of course you’re apart of the group! Angie must be crazy to think otherwise.”

Kaede wraps her arms around herself. “There must be something that we can do to try and stop her. She still doesn’t have the majority vote.”

“Do you honestly think that Angie cares about the number of votes she has?” Maki snaps. “There’s only a one person difference anyway. Just because she thinks she’s in charge doesn’t mean that I’m going to listen to her. She’s made it clear that she doesn’t want me around.”

“That’s why we need to shut down her shitty council before things get out of hand!” Kaito shakes his head. “She’s going to end up hurting the group instead of helping it! Doesn’t she realise that we all just want to leave!?”

“Perhaps,” Shuichi says, “but she also thinks that it’s safe to just stay here. Maybe she only decided to start the council up now because Monokuma is gone.”

“But is he?” Maki points out. “He could very well still be here in the academy. He’s probably just hiding because of his kids.”

“I still can’t believe you wanted to fight those machines,” Kaito sighs. “Honestly Maki, you’re going to get hurt if you keep acting so reckless.”

Maki narrows her eyes. “I can handle myself just fine.”

Kaede pulls on her temporary hat. She clearly knows that Maki can handle herself. 

She glances over to the dormitory doors and watches in surprise as she spots Rantaro, Kirumi and Kiyo all leave. When Kaede narrows her eyes, she can see quite a few people still inside the dormitories. Hmm.

“Huh? What are you all doing out here?” Kaito asks, putting a hand on his hip. “Wait, are you all going to train with us? That’s great! I’m going to have so many sidekicks!”

“No thank you,” Kiyo responds. “We are simply participating in an act of teenage rebellion. Is that not what you are all doing too?”

“Uh, no,” Kaito looks dejected. “We’re training.”

“I thought training involved some sort of movement?” Kirumi tilts her head. “You are all looking rather still. Unless you are all doing mental training?”

“Yeah, uh, mental training,” Kaito quickly says. He turns around in a huff.

Kaede fondly rolls her eyes. “Are you all rebelling against Angie?”

“Angie has decided that everyone that is not in her council isn’t allowed out at night,” Kiyo informs her. “So as to prove a point, we’ve decided to all go outside and have a protest of some sort. I personally don’t take kindly to people telling me what I can and can’t do.”

Rantaro takes a seat on the bench, stretching his arms over his head. “I don’t think Angie realises that she’s putting a strain on the group. She’s probably going to upset Monodam.”

“A-Ah, that’s right,” Shuichi nods. “I don’t really want to be on his bad side right now.”

“Surely no one does,” Maki says. “Which is why we need to sort this out right now.”

“I don’t think Angie is up to actually listening to anyone right now,” Kiyo’s eyes flutter shut. “She only really listens to people who are apart of her group. She has also turned rather fond of Tenko too. I think that she received Angie’s talent.”

“It doesn’t matter that she doesn’t want to listen,” Maki pushes past Kiyo. “I’ll make her.”

“Harukawa, you don’t have your talent, correct?” Kirumi quickly says. “I’m not sure that you’ll actually be able to intimidate her as much as you want to.”

“Do you want to die?”

“Maki!” Kaito cries. “You can’t just go around asking that! Honestly, just sit still for one second. Tojo has a point, you know? Whatever you’re thinking of wanting to do, you can’t. And even so! I’m not about to let you try to kill someone again!”

“I wasn’t going to kill her.” Maki acts like a scolded child as she takes a seat next to Rantaro. “Just talk…”

“Um,” Shuichi’s eyes flicker over to the door. “I think Angie is coming out.”

He’s right. Angie boldly walks out of the dormitories with her council flocking behind her. Her smile is dark as she spots the group and she confidently heads towards them, ignoring Maki’s look of disgust that is obviously meant for her. 

“Um, Angie thinks you all need to head back inside,” Angie says. “The last murder happened at night, right? Angie thinks that it’s much too dangerous for everyone to be outside of their rooms right now. Angie is only trying to protect everyone, you know?”

“We see that,” Kirumi replies briskly, “but it is also unfair to tell everyone what they can and can’t do.”

“Yeah and you’re letting your shitty council do what they want,” Kaito jabs a finger at the opposite group. “What if they try to kill us? Wouldn’t that put us in danger?”

“Momota! Are you suggesting that we’d kill someone?” Tsumugi looks shocked. She tightly clasps her hands together so that they turn white. “That’s horrible! We wouldn’t do that! We’ve all promised Angie that we’ll live here and we can’t do that if we start up the killing game again!”

A pleased grin spreads across Angie’s face. “See! Tsumugi completely understands what I’m getting at! Angie thinks if we all accept that this place is our new home then nothing horrible will happen! Angie really doesn’t want the killing game to continue, you know?”

“But,” Kaito’s fist shakes, “I have shit I need to do! There’s so many places I haven’t gotten to explore yet! I haven’t even gotten to go to space yet!”

“Well maybe Kaito should look for a new dream!” Angie suggests, throwing her arms out. “Besides, you can see the sky from down here! Look, the stars are out right now! Isn’t that enough?”

“Of course it fucking isn’t,” Kaito huffs. He throws his hands up in annoyance, unable to speak more. 

Maki sharply turns around to face Angie. “We need to leave as soon as possible. Momota is sick.”

“Maki!” Kaito sounds alarmed. “I’m fine! We’ve got more important things to sort out right-”

Angie tilts her head to the side. “That’s unfortunate! Maybe he should just lie down for a little and-”

“It’s not that sort of illness,” Maki firmly states. “He needs medical help as soon as possible and I doubt Monokuma is going to hand over and medicine any time soon. We need to leave this place. I’m not going to take no for an answer.”

“Ooh”, Angie whistles. “But Angie isn’t sure whether or not to trust Maki because she isn’t really all that trustworthy, you know? She’s already lied about being an assassin and Angie has already figured out that Kaede is now the new assassin so she really doesn’t trust those two.”

“You figured that out?” Shuichi puts a hand to his chin. “Did you receive my talent?”

“Not quite!” Angie happily responds. She points over towards Kokichi. “I got Kokichi’s talent! Isn’t he so kind to bless me with his talent? Now Angie can run a super successful group because she’s a leader now! Angie really thinks that this talent swap was a blessing in disguise! Don’t you all agree?”

“Of course not,” Kaito roughly pushes his way to the front of the group. “Just leave us alone. We’ve been training the last new nights without any problems so far. You can even see us from the dormitories!”

“But we’re not going to stay in the dormitories!” Kokichi grins as he informs Kaito. “We’re going to Angie’s lab so we can have a super secret meeting for all the good children here! That means no assassins and no Momotas!”

“Hey!”

“So, um,” Tenko takes a step forwards. “Tenko thinks that you should all go inside now before she uh...shouts at you all! Well, not at the girls but…”

“Chabashira is useless because she doesn’t have her talent anymore,” Kokichi smirks, ducking away from a poorly aimed hit from Tenko. 

Angie shakes her head. “Kokichi, Tenko is the most important person here! She has Angie’s talent! You shouldn’t disrespect her like that, you know?”

“Hah! That told you!” Miu cackles. 

“Who has Tenko’s talent anyway?” Tenko suddenly asks. “Tojo? Do you have my talent?”

“Ah, that’s…” Kirumi quickly nods her head. “Yes, that is correct.”

“Oh, that’s a relief!” Tenko sighs. “Tenko was worried a nasty male received her talent. Tenko is still very angry at Amami for taking Yumeno’s talent without her permission.”

“I didn’t have a choice,” Rantaro weakly responds. 

Angie stares easily at the group. “Well, Angie guesses she can’t stop you tonight but please stay away from the tunnels. We’re going to be filling them in later. It’s such a shame that Gonta still isn’t around. Now we don’t have anyone here who is big and strong!”

“Hold on a second,” Kaito splutters. 

“W-Wait!” Kaede jolts. “You can’t block of the tunnels! We might need them to escape!”

“Did Kaede not listen to a single thing Angie said?” Angie asks, leaning forwards. Her face turns dark. “Wanting to leave this place will only encourage us all to play the killing game. This is why you shouldn’t be the leader. Angie thinks that you don’t think things through properly.”

“At least she doesn’t want us all to pretend that we’re all getting along,” Maki’s eyes narrow. “You’ve still got less than half the people in your group. We can easily overpower you any time we want.”

“Um, but didn’t you just say Kaito is sick?” Angie puts a paintbrush to her lips. “And Angie really thinks Maki shouldn’t do anything hasty right now.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?” Kaito crosses his arms. “You know what, forget it. Just go.”

Angie has no problem pushing her way through the group to reach the academy. Her student council dutifully follow after her and into the academy. When Kokichi reaches the door, he turns his head and suddenly winks childishly at the group before rushing back inside. 

Kaede quickly notices that her hands are shaking. She puts them under her arms. “She can’t just block off our only sure way of escape!”

“I’d like to see her try,” Kiyo says. “Her group is lacking in talents that specialise in strength. Whilst Shirogane is a maid, she can easily be overpowered by both an assassin and an aikido master. That reminds me, my deepest gratitude for not outing me, Tojo.”

“It’s no problem,” Kirumi smiles. “I think there’s already enough going on right now without Tenko trying to hunt down every person she doesn’t like.”

“She is really intimidating,” Rantaro shudders. 

“H-Hey, Kaede! Where are you going?” Kaito runs towards the girl who has started to head towards the grassy path. 

“I’m going to protect the tunnels,” Kaede informs him. “I’m not about to let Angie ruin any chance of escape we may have. I don’t want to use force but they can’t block it off if they know that I’m down there.”

“You sure about that?” Maki asks. “They’ll probably think it’s a good thing that you’re down there. I don’t think Angie would hesitate about getting rid of people defying her right now.”

“If I may,” Kiyo cuts in. “She’d probably see you being down there as a win. Even if you were to succumb to hunger and dehydration whilst trapped down there, no one will have the chance to find your body and therefore, there will be no announcement. I’d be careful about what you’re doing, Akamatsu.”

“R-Right.” A drop of sweat runs down Kaede’s face. “Then maybe I shouldn’t…”

“N-No!” Shuichi adamantly shakes his head. “I’ll join you down there! Angie wouldn’t try and kill two people.”

“Yeah, you’re right!” Kaito wraps an arm around Kaede’s and Shuichi’s heads, pulling them both close. “I’ll come down too! She definitely won’t kill all three of us! Maki, are you in?”

Maki pauses before nodding. “I’m not doing this for any of you three. I’m just...considering this my new mission.”

“Heh,” Kaito reaches over and ruffles her hair. Maki freezes. “You still think Kaede is the mastermind then?”

She angrily pushes past him. “Whatever, Momota.”

Kaito gives Kaede a half hug before pulling his arms away. “Don’t worry, Kaede. I’ll get her to apologise one day.”

“It really doesn’t matter,” she replies, smiling lightly. “I really do understand what she was-”

“No,” Kaito puts his foot down. “She can’t become a better person by just pretending that she doesn’t care. Give me a little bit more time! She’ll be apologising to you all day if I have it my way!”

“That is an excessive amount of apologies,” Kirumi blinks. 

Rantaro, Kiyo and Kirumi all follow behind the optimistic training group. When they reach the manhole, Kiyo and Kaede work together to pop the lid off and Kaede carries it down with her so that Angie can’t use it later on. Kaede leans the cover against the entrance of the tunnel carefully.

“It’s been a while since we’ve been down here,” Rantaro looks around. It’s still rather dark and gloomy down here. There’s also the heavy atmosphere of despair. He winces when he looks at the tunnels and notices Kaede sadly glancing at them too. 

“We haven't really had much time to try them again,” Maki says. She hesitates before entering the tunnels on her own. 

Kaito sighs in exasperation and quickly follows after her. It doesn’t take long before he crawls back out of them followed by an irritated Maki.

“Are you that stupid?” She snaps. “You’re sick. Don’t bother trying the tunnels. You need as much strength as possible.”

“Maki,” Kaito runs a hand through his hair. “I’ve already said that it’s nothing! I’ve just got a really bad cold, that’s all.”

“You don’t sound ill,” Kirumi points out skeptically.

“Uh…” Kaito slowly hunches over and lets out a quite obvious fake cough. “O-Oh man, I sure am burning up right now…”

“Then go to bed,” Maki says, turning back around to try the tunnels again.

Kaito wildly shakes my head. “There’s no way that I’m heading back to my room on my own! Angie might get me.”

“Or perhaps a ghost,” Kiyo helpfully says. 

It’s impressive how quickly Kaito’s face drains of colour. He latches on to the closest person who is next to him. Kaito successfully manages to knock himself and Shuichi onto the floor whilst yelling about ghosts. 

Maki rolls her eyes as she heads back into the tunnels but is stopped when someone clears their throat. She turns around warily and spots Kaede heading towards the tunnels whilst holding her hands. 

“Um…” Kaede refuses to look Maki in the eye. “Can...I join you?”

Maki looks the blond up and down before sighing. “Whatever. Don’t get in my way.”

Rantaro watches in surprise as the two girls head into the tunnels together. Even what had happened yesterday, Kaede still has the guts to be around Maki. Rantaro feels seriously impressed.

“I suppose I’ll join them,” Kiyo says lightly. “I’d like to think that my new talent may be of use. Still, I highly doubt that anyone will be able to get through these tunnels. Even when there were sixteen of us we all still failed.”

“Even though,” Kirumi says, “it’s nice to think that we have some way out of here. Perhaps Akamatsu will be able to finish the tunnels with her new talent? She certainly seems optimistic about leaving.”

“Yes, well...” Kiyo says. He enters the tunnel without a word.

Kirumi eyes Kaito, who is still trembling on the floor. Next to him, Shuichi awkwardly pats his back in comfort.

“Well,” Kirumi says. “I guess we’ll be down here for the night. I was...rather looking forward to sleeping in my own bed tonight.”

“Ah,” Rantaro sympathetically smiles. “That’s right…”

“One day,” Kirumi murmurs, taking a seat on the floor. She neatly tucks her skirts and pulls her knees up to her chest as she looks at the tunnels. “We simply cannot let Angie block off the only way we have out of here.”

“Of course,” Rantaro agrees. He takes a seat next to her. “It’s a shame that she won’t listen to any of us right now.”

“She will listen to her group,” Kirumi points out. “Perhaps we should try and convince someone who is with her to try and talk her out of this. If she won’t listen to us then perhaps she’ll listen to someone who is following her.”

Rantaro nods. “Maybe you should have a word with Chabashira? She has been looking rather uncertain about Angie’s student council.”

“Chabashira?” Kirumi puts a hand to her chin. “Yes, I see. She would be rather logical to talk to. Although, she might be rather difficult to get to. Angie will be around her a lot since Chabashira did get her talent.”

“Oh.” Rantaro runs a hand through his hair. “Right. Still, she might be our best shot of getting Angie to stop all this madness. I know she means well but she isn’t doing herself any favours by not letting us try to leave. I refuse to believe that she truly wants to stay here. Monokuma or the monokubs will find out about her plans.”

“And then give us another time limit,” Kirumi sadly finishes. “Which is what we definitely want to avoid at all cost.”

“So tomorrow,” Rantaro says, “you’ll find Chabashira and try to convince her to stop Angie before things go south.”

“And Angie?”

“I’ll try to distract her if I can.”

“Um, not to butt in or anything,” Kaito says, “but doesn’t Angie sort of hate you right now?”

“Not hate…” Rantaro pouts. “Just...dislike.”

“Still, you won’t do,” Kaito responds. “So it’s up to me to save the day! Shuichi, find a way to distract Angie tomorrow!”

Shuichi opens and closes his mouth. He accepts his fate with a sigh. “I’ll see what I can come up with tomorrow.”

“Alright!” Kaito slaps him on the back. “I knew I could count on my sidekick!”

“And what will you be doing tomorrow, Momota?” Kirumi asks.

Kaito grins. “That’s easy! I’m still keeping an eye on Kaede and Maki. Gotta make sure everyone in the group is safe, that’s all.”

“And Amami?”

Rantaro leans back against the wall. “I’ll see if I can get any information about Angie’s group. Whilst I’m not sure I’ll be able to fully infiltrate it maybe I can figure something out that will help us stop the council. If I manage to convince at least one more person to leave then Angie’s group will get weaker.”

“That sounds like a good plan,” Kirumi says. She glances up and notices Angie peering down the manhole. “Oh dear…”

“Um!” Angie bounces up and down. “Can you all like, move? Angie is trying to block the entrance!”

“Nuh uh,” Kaito stands up and grabs the steps on the wall for support. “We’re not letting you get rid of our only chance of escape!”

“But Angie has already said we’re not leaving!” Angie responds brightly. “So, everyone out!”

Kokichi knocks Angie out of the way. “Come on, Momota! Don’t you want to end the killing game?”

“This isn’t ending anything!” Kaito retorts. “We’ll just end up getting another time limit!”

“But Angie has already talked to the small bears!” Angie suddenly says. “And they promised that there is no time limits as long as we all get along!”

“Huh?” Shuichi’s eyes widen. “Then that means…”

“That means Angie has found us all a peaceful solution to this game!” Angie happily announces. “We can end it right now and live together! Isn’t this great news! Angie has saved everyone!”

“Good job you spooky shit!” Miu says, laughing and spraying spit around everywhere. She seems to be in a better mood. 

Kirumi frowns. “How do we not know you’re lying?”

“Oh, that’s easy!” Tsumugi says airily. “Because the monokubs are with us!”

Three smaller figures pop their heads over the hole. 

“Hello down there!” Monophanie happily shouts. 

“Ah! Are they trapped?” Monotaro asks.

“No,” Angie replies. “They’re refusing to listen to Angie! Tell them that they can come out now because you’ve cancelled the game!”

Monodam clears his throat. “In-order-for-everyone-to-get-along-I-have-temporarily-stopped-the-killing-game-so-that-”

“See! Temporarily!” Kaito shouts. “We’re still going to have to play it sooner or later!”

“And Angie has already found a solution for that, so don’t worry!” Angie explains, holding her hands behind her back. “So, out!”

“What do you mean you’ve found a solution?” Shuichi reluctantly asks. 

“Um,” Angie tilts her head to the side. “That’s information that only the student council can know about. Angie doesn’t trust any of you with it! Sorry!”

“Why you,” Kaito takes a deep breath. “We’re still staying down here. If you trap us then you’re going to be responsible for a lot of deaths!”

To Kaito’s surprise, Angie considers this. She sighs dramatically. “Fine! Angie gives you all until tomorrow to get out of there! Angie knows that she’s found a way to end the killing game!”

“But you really haven’t,” Kirumi quietly says so that Angie can’t hear her.

Kaito lets out a loud sigh of relief when the student council finally leave. “She’s fucking lost it. What does she mean that she’s found a solution?”

“This is worrisome,” Kirumi frowns. “Maybe we should change our plans…”

“No,” Rantaro responds. “As long as we don’t act too suspicious then we might be able to put a stop to things.”

“And we really need to hurry up,” Kaito says. “I don’t think I like what Angie is planning.”

Kaito spares a glance over to the tunnels. Kiyo stumbles out, blinking as if in a daze before heading back inside without a second thought. Maki follows after him, knocking him out of the way angrily as she fails the tunnel again. Finally, Kaede walks out shaking her head. She firmly pulls her borrowed hat over her head before marching back inside. 

\---

Rantaro heads back to the tunnels with a backpack full of food. Kaede had given him permission to borrow one of her spare ones so that he had somewhere to put the food. He climbs down the steps and feels like a hero as Kaito cheers excitedly. 

“You might be my new favourite person!” Kaito declares dramatically, helping him get the backpack off his back. 

“It’s nothing,” Rantaro laughs. “The dining room was completely empty. I don’t think anyone else has woken up yet.”

“Shirogane should really get a move on then,” Kirumi clicks her tongue. “She cannot make a satisfying breakfast for everyone if she doesn’t wake up early. I also like to give the floors a sweep before breakfast. There is nothing more off putting than a dirty hallway.” 

“Aren’t you bothered about our current conditions?” Kiyo aks. He gestures around the room. “It’s absolutely filthy in here.”

“And it shall remain that way,” Kirumi says. “I have no way or desire to sort this room out at the moment.”

Rantaro starts to hand out cups so that he can pour out cups of tea for everyone. He has a couple of flasks full of it. 

“Does someone want to wake Saihara up?” Rantaro asks. “I don’t want his tea to go cold.”

“He isn’t really a morning person,” Kaede laughs. She’s sat next to Shuichi despite him still being asleep. He has his jacket over him like a blanket. “I’ll try to wake him up later.”

“My, the two of you are rather close,” Kiyo points out. He sips his tea whilst still wearing his mask. Rantaro stares intensely as Kiyo takes his next sip but is unable to figure out how Kiyo is drinking the tea without getting it on his mask. He supposes that it’ll forever be a great mystery. 

Kaede shakes her head, rubbing her cheeks as she feels them go red. “It isn’t anything like that! We’re just...really good friends.”

“Right,” Maki takes a sip of her tea. She doesn’t hide her blunt tone.

Kaede droops. “But it’s the truth…”

At least a distraction manages to calm Kaede down.

Kaito groans loudly as he spots Kokichi peering down the hole. The smaller boy’s face lights up when he spots Kaito.

“My beloved!” Kokichi cries.

“Go away,” Kaito yells. “We’re not leaving!”

“Oh, I already know that!” Kokichi says nonchalantly. “I’m hungry and I want breakfast!”

“Starve for all I care,” Maki mutters, protectively pulling her plate of food onto her lap.

Kokichi starts to sniffle. “But Shirogane hasn’t woken up yet and I’m incapable of making myself anything to eat! Do you all want me to die! I’ll make sure that my ghost comes back to haunt you all!”

“D-Don’t say such stupid shit!” Kaito yells back. 

“Ah,” Kiyo closes his eyes. “Are you a fan on the paranormal too, Ouma?”

“Huh?” Kokichi tilts his head. “Like ghosts and stuff?”

“Stop it!” Kaito howls. 

“Yes,” Kiyo responds. “That is good news. If you ever were to die I’ll happily hold a seance for you. There is actually the perfect room in the academy for one actually. If all else fails, I suppose we can just use the rooms for storage.”

“I guess so,” Kirumi responds.

“So can I have something to eat or not?” Kokichi asks loudly. “Because if I die because no one feeds me then all of you will be punished!”

“That’s obviously a lie,” Kaede mumbles.

Rantaro quickly busies himself with pouring himself a cup of tea.

Kokichi starts to whine loudly. “I know you all have food because I saw you get it! You won’t let little old me starve, right?”

“Yes,” Maki easily responds. She sinks her teeth into a piece of bread.

“Ouma, are you sure that you’re here for breakfast?” Rantaro asks. “Is there anything that you’d like to tell us?”

“Hmm? What was that?” Kokichi says, looking around. “I thought I heard someone say something.”

“Amami asked you a question,” Kirumi shakes her head. “Please don’t be so irrational so early in the morning.”

“Huh? I don’t know anyone called Amami,” Kokichi replies. “Nope, I’d definitely know about any lying snakes called Amami.”

“Woah!” Kaito’s eyebrows shoot upwards. “What the hell man? What did Amami ever do to you?!”

“What?” Kokichi pauses momentarily. “Hey, Momota! Catch me!”

Kaito’s cup of tea falls onto the floor as he instinctively reaches his arms out as Kokichi throws himself down the hole. The smaller boy is lucky that Kaito is strong enough to catch him. However, it doesn’t take long for Kaito’s knees to buckle and the two of them fall backwards.

“My beloved! You saved me!” Kokichi starts to cry. “I knew that I could trust you!”

“I wasn’t about to let there be another death,” Kaito huffs. “So-H-Hey! What are you doing? Get the hell off me!”

Kokichi squeezes tightly around Kaito. “Nope!”

To his dismay, Maki easily grabs Kokichi by the scruff of the scarf and after a couple of forceful tugs, pushes him away from the now dazed Kaito.

“Couldn’t you use the steps like any other normal person?” Kiyo sighs. “You’ve made Momota spill his tea everywhere.”

“Whoopsie!” Kokichi puts his hands to his cheeks. “I’m very sorry!”

“You certainly don’t sound like it,” Kaito grumbles. 

Rantaro hesitates before pushing his own untouched cup of tea forwards towards Kokichi. “Ouma, would you like my cup of tea? I promise I haven’t touched it.”

Kokichi starts screaming. “G-Ghost!”

“Where?!”

Maki’s eyes roll as Kaito ducks behind her, grabbing onto her shoulders for protection. She nonchalantly continues to eat her breakfast.

“Ouma,” Kirumi says. “Amami is offering you his tea. Shouldn’t you take it?”

“I don’t like to accept things from snakes,” Kokichi responds. He starts to check his fingernails. 

“Oh for goodness sake.” Maki snatches the tea from Rantaro’s hands and shoves it into Kokichi’s. “Now go away.”

“I agree,” Kiyo says. “Unless you’ve got anything important to tell us then I think you should leave.”

“Aw man,” Kokichi looks absolutely dejected. “But can’t I hang out with you guys until everyone else wakes up?”

“No way,” Kaito shakes his head. “You think it’s smart to take Angie’s side.”

“Momota? Are you like twelve?” Kokichi grins as he raises an eyebrow. “Only little kids take sides. Well, I guess that explains a lot about you.”

Kokichi ignores Kaito starting to yell at him as he downs his cup of tea and starts to climb up the ladders. Halfway up, he stops. 

“By the way,” Kokichi says, “Angie is adamant that she’s sealing off the tunnels. You should all leave if you know what’s good for you.”

Kaede trembles as she watches Kokichi leave. “He’s so…”

“Ignore him,” Kirumi tells her. “I know I do.”

“Still,” Kiyo puts his cup down. “He had no reason to be so rude to Amami. If he has a problem with him then he should just say so. Acting like a kid will get you nowhere.”

“I thought that you were both close?” Maki’s eyebrows knit together. 

Rantaro sighs. “Me too.”

\---

Inside Angie’s art lab, Tenko feels sweat start to trickle down her face as she holds onto a paintbrush delicately. She’s been painting all night due to Angie’s demands. No matter how much she paints, Tenko can’t actually...hear what Angie wants her to hear. Tenko feels terrible as she sets the paintbrush down. 

Ever since she became the Ultimate Artist, Tenko has been feeling...useless. She can no longer protect all the girls the way she wants to. What if Himiko gets hurt because she can’t protect her from any nasty killers? And now that the group has been divided, Tenko can’t help but feel nervous. Anything can happen at any time and she’ll be completely helpless to stop anything. 

Tenko locks the door behind her and makes a mental note to return Angie’s key back to her once the leader wakes up. She stumbles down the steps and heads towards the dining room, hoping that Tsumugi is awake. Tenko’s stomach growls loudly. 

Instead, she is greeted with Kokichi sat at the table. Tenko is quiet as she watches him furiously scribble on a piece of paper. She finds it strange that he is using crayons to draw and write with. Then again, Kokichi is a strange person. 

“Are you going to creep around all day or are you coming inside?”

“Tenko will not allow a male to talk to her like that!”

Kokichi smirks as he turns around in his chair. “Good morning, Tenko!”

“That’s Chabashira to you,” Tenko bristles. She pushes past his chair, making sure to rock it slightly as she slips into the kitchen. “Tenko sees that no one else is awake.”

“And I’m starving!” Kokichi wails. “I haven’t had anything to eat all morning! If I’m not fed soon then we might have another class trial!”

“Don’t joke about that!” Tenko hisses. She begrudgingly makes two plates of food for the two of them, even though she doesn’t think Kokichi deserves her services. Tenko slams down the plate of food next to the small boy as she takes a seat as far away as him as possible.

Kokichi sniffs his arm before raising an eyebrow. “Do I smell or something?”

“Tenko would prefer it if she didn’t have to sit next to you,” she says. 

“Ouch! You’ve really wounded me! I’m not sure how much longer I can go on for now!”

“Just...shut up.”

Kokichi tucks his papers into his pocket as he pulls his plate in front of him. “Is something the matter? Are you sad because I’m not your precious Yumeno?”

“Hey!” Tenko scowls. “Don’t you dare try and make fun of Yumeno! Even though Tenko no longer has her talent she will kick your ass any day!”

“I can’t doubt that,” Kokichi smiles. 

Tenko peels an orange quietly. She’s tired. She doesn’t notice the orange peel that lands in her hair until it slides down and onto her lap. Her head whips up and she shoots a glare at Kokichi. He grins with a half peeled orange in his hands. 

“Why did a nasty male join Angie’s council anyway?” Tenko asks. “You’re the only boy in the group. Tenko will keep an extra close eye on you.”

“Right,” Kokichi responds nonchalantly. He’s clearly unfazed. “Also, does it really matter why I joined the council? Maybe I thought it would be more fun with Angie! Everyone else is really boring.”

“Is that it?” Tenko asks. “You only care about whether things are fun or not?”

“Exactly!” Kokichi nods. His eyes shine brightly. “And it looks like Angie has a lot of things up her sleeve! I think things around here are going to be really interesting!”

Tenko quietly goes back to unpeeling her orange. She ignores the fact that her movements are slow and ignores how her heart feels heavier than usual. She feels another piece of orange peel be thrown at her head but this time she pays no mind to it. 

She only lifts her head up when the dining room doors open and Tsumugi quickly rushes inside. The new maid looks disappointed when she spots the two plates of fruit already on the table.

“I’m sorry!” Tsumugi cries. “I forgot to wake up early to make everyone breakfast! How does Tojo do it every morning?”

“It’s fine, Shirogane,” Tenko offers her a small smile. “Tenko isn’t feeling hungry anyway.”

“Well I am!” Kokichi sniffles. “I almost died from starvation this morning! It was horrible!”

“I-I’ll get right to work then!” Tsumugi dashes into the kitchen. At least she’s now wearing her normal clothes again. 

Tenko only feels a little better when Himiko finally enters the room but her stomach drops when she spots Angie and Miu follow in after her. Angie’s hand is on Himiko’s shoulder and just for a second, all Tenko wants to do is smack that hand away and run as fast as she can. 

“Yoo hoo! Good morning Tenko!” Angie brightly waves at her. “Did you get any messages last night?”

“Ah, good morning, Angie,” Tenko pushes her plate away. “Um, Tenko really did try but she...just can’t hear anything. Tenko is really sorry because she tried her best but she just couldn’t-”

Angie holds a hand up. “Calm down, Tenko! It is fine! We’ll just have to try again later on, yes?”

“Y-Yeah,” Tenko lowers her head as Angie takes a seat at the table with Miu. She’s happily surprised when Himiko takes a seat next to her.

Himiko rubs her eyes. “I think I had the best sleep I’ve ever had last night.”

“That’s really good, Yumeno!” Tenko feels adoration flood through her. 

“But I’m still really tied,” Himiko says. “I wish I had my magic so that I could cast a wake up spell…”

“Tenko can make you some coffee if you like!” Tenko’s chair scrapes across the floor as she hurries into the kitchen, narrowly dodging Tsumugi as she pushes her way to the kettle. 

“I-I can make you a drink if you really want!” Tsumugi tells her. She’s stood by the oven, expertly cooking several omelettes at once.

Shaking her head, Tenko pulls out a cup. “No, I’m making a drink for Yumeno.”

Tsumugi’s glasses flash in understanding. “Ah, I see!”

Tenko quickly heads back to the dining room and slams down the cup full of hot coffee down in front of Himiko. The tiny girl blinks slowly at the cup before she starts to smile. 

“Thank you,” Himiko says before she picks up the cup. Even though the coffee is still piping hot, Himiko starts to sip at it. “Now I won’t fall asleep all day.”

“Then Tenko is glad,” Tenko says firmly. 

Angie stands up the moment Tsumugi heads into the room with her trolley. “Attention everyone! Angie has a really important announcement to make!”

“Out with it then!” Miu yells. She fumbles with her ear momentarily before reaching out for her breakfast, easily picking up her knife and fork. 

Angie’s arms spread out wide. “Angie needs everyone’s help with moving everyone from the tunnels! In order for us to live here peacefully, Angie really needs to remove all temptation away from the academy!”

“Um, how will we do that?” Tsumugi asks. “We don’t actually have...that many strong people here.”

“I bet I could beat them all up!” Kokichi announces. “I’m actually super strong, you know!”

“Angie thinks that you should stop lying,” Angie says. “Himiko, did you get a helpful talent?”

“No,” Himiko pouts, placing her coffee cup onto the table. “I got Shinguji’s talent. What a pain. I don’t care about anthropology at all.”

“Ah, that’s a shame,” Angie’s shoulders slump. “Angie was hoping that you got Shuichi’s talent or something.”

“We could always ask them very nicely to move,” Tsumugi suggests. She recoils when Kokichi sneers at her. “Don’t make that face! I find that people will comply more when people ask them to do things nicely.”

“That is a very good idea!” Angie praises the new maid. “But Angie also thinks that no one will actually listen right now.”

“Then we need to trick them out,” Kokichi says. He places his feet on the table, ignoring Tenko’s look of disgust. “Make them think that they need to come out of the hole!”

“Out of the hole?” Miu’s fork trembles along with her hand. “W-Well, that might be difficult.”

“Not at all!” Kokichi grins. “Just think! What are they all scared of?”

“Um, the killing game?” Tsumugi suggests.

“Angie?” Tenko says. 

Kokichi shakes his head. “Sort of. I was thinking along the lines of Monokuma.”

“But Monokuma isn’t here right now,” Himiko points out. “They know that too.”

“Then we’ll have to trick them into thinking that Monokuma is back!” Kokichi sighs loudly. “Geez, you guys are really slow.”

“Angie likes your idea but,” Angie balances a paintbrush between her fingers. “How exactly are we going to do that? Even the monokubs said that they can’t find him! If his own children can’t find Monokuma then how are we going to find him?”

“Well,” Kokichi drawls. “We don’t have to find him, per se. We have an artist and an inventor in this very room.”

Tenko’s eyes narrow. “What are you getting that?”

Kokichi grins. 

\---

“Are you sure that we should leave?”

“Totally! I have everything under control!”

Kaito holds his thumb up as Kirumi, Rantaro and Shuichi all send him the same look of uncertainty. They’re stood by the ladder to head back up to the academy. 

“We all need to leave at some point,” Maki points out. “It’s not like we can stay cooped up under here forever.”

“On the contrary,” Kiyo suddenly says. “Perhaps, we could if we consider…”

He is sadly ignored as Kaede places herself next to Kaito. “The sooner we put a stop to Angie’s council, the better.”

“I assure you that we shall try our best to try and stop Angie,” Kirumi says. “Although, I wouldn’t expect any results today.”

“Just try your best!” Kaito reassuringly cheers. He winks as the three of them climb out of the tunnel.

Rantaro uses his hand to shield himself from the sudden sunlight, blinking his eyes rapidly so that he can adjust to the new sudden bright light. It seems Shuichi and Kirumi did they same thing as him as he notices Shuichi rub his eyes. 

“Right,” Kirumi says. She brushes down her elegant skirts. “So the plan is that Saihara needs to distract Angie whilst I talk to Chabashira. Amami, you’re going to be finding out information from the other members, correct?”

Rantaro nods. “Yeah, that’s right.”

“Saihara, are you sure you’re up for this?” Kirumi asks.

Shuichi nods. His hands move momentarily to grab for his hat that still isn’t there. “Ah, yes. I’m sure I’ll be fine.”

“If Angie tries anything then you need to get back to the others as quickly as possible,” Rantaro tells him. “Tojo and I should also be around if things start to get messy.”

“That’s right,” Kirumi says. “Although I highly doubt that Angie will do anything to harm anyone at the moment.”

Shuichi swallows and nods before both he and Kirumi head towards the academy. Rantaro pauses before starting his own search. He heads towards the dormitories to see if anyone is inside. When he peers through the glass windows, he’s disappointed when he spots no one inside. 

He pulls away with a sigh.

“Oh! Um, what are you doing out here?” 

Rantaro spins around to see Tsumugi. She has a basket in her hands full of clothes. She adjusts her grip on the basket and lets her eyes drop towards the clothes, refusing to look at Rantaro. 

“Hi, Shirogane,” Rantaro says. He feels sweat build up on his palms. “Uh…”

“This is really awkward,” Tsumugi admits. “I thought that your group would be in the tunnels. T-That isn’t to say that I’m glad to see you though.”

“You are?”

“Well,” Tsumugi uses her shoulder to knock some hair back. “I don’t really like that our group is sort of split at the moment. I feel a lot safer knowing that everyone is together, you know? It’s a lot harder to keep an eye on people when they’re all spread out everywhere.”

Rantaro nods. “I guess that makes sense.”

“I’m glad you think so!” Tsumugi happily smiles. “Um, I hope this isn’t too much to ask but could you maybe convince everyone to get out of the tunnels? I know that you all don’t agree with Angie but she really is just trying to keep everyone safe.”

“But she wants us all to stay here,” Rantaro says. “Do you actually really want to stay here forever? Angie hasn’t thought things through properly. Sooner or later the monokubs or even Monokuma is going to return and put us on another time limit.”

“Ah, well,” Tsumugi sadly rolls her shoulders. “You’re probably right but it’s just, I feel a lot safer sticking around Angie. No offence but I don’t feel safe around Harukawa and if Akamatsu is the new assassin then I really think that we should be wary of them both. Akamatsu might underestimate herself and accidentally hurt someone or worse.”

“Akamatsu just wants to leave,” Rantaro explains. “She has done nothing but try to escape last night.”

“She has?” Tsumugi momentarily stops. “Won’t she tire herself out if she keeps doing that? If that’s the case then wouldn’t she be putting herself in danger? She’s still with Harukawa, right?”

“Momota is keeping an eye on them,” Rantaro says. “Also Shinguji is with them and I think he’d be able to stop a fight if one broke out.”

“Oh,” Tsumugi says. “But still, don’t you think that it would probably be safer for everyone to listen to Angie right now? I think that she would do a really good job with looking out for everyone. She’s even got Ouma’s talent! He didn’t put his talent to use at all when he had it but now that someone else has it, maybe they’ll be a really good leader for our group!”

“So you wouldn’t want Akamatsu back as the leader?”

Tsumugi lets out an awkward laugh. “I’m all for giving people second chances but Akamatsu has let three people die under her watch and almost killed you in the process. I do think we need a new leader. I know Akamatsu means well but...she’s dangerous.”

Rantaro silently starts to think to himself. He’s surprised when Tsumugi bumps shoulders with him. 

“Come on! I need to do some washing and I would appreciate the company!” Tsumugi starts to head towards the academy and with no other option, Rantaro follows after her. 

They don’t walk into anyone else as they head towards Kirumi’s lab. Tsumugi knocks the door open with her foot and heads straight towards the washing machine. She sighs loudly in relief when she is finally able to place the heavy basket down. 

“I really don’t know how Tojo manages to do this every day,” Tsumugi says as she starts to place clothes into the machines. “My shoulders hurt already!”

“Tojo is really amazing,” Rantaro hears himself say. 

Tsumugi cheekily smiles at him. “Oh? Do you like Tojo?”

“Of course I do.”

“Um,” Tsumugi giggles. “Not like that, silly!”

It takes Rantaro a moment to try and understand what Tsumugi is getting at. When it finally clicks, he feels his cheeks heat up. “It’s nothing like that! Really! I just think that Tojo is really good at her talent, that’s all.”

Clearly, Tsumugi doesn’t believe him as she simply continues to giggle to herself as she puts the rest of the clothes into the machine. After pressing the button to turn them on, she spins back around, her skirt twirling around her knees. 

“So why aren’t you in the tunnels anyway?”

“Ah.” Rantaro rubs the back of his head. 

Tsumugi expectantly looks up at him. “Ah?”

Rantaro breathes out. “Is there anyway of convincing you to leave Angie’s council? I really do think that it’s a bad idea.”

“Oh.” Tsumugi looks disappointed. She clasps her hands together. “I don’t think so. Not right now, sorry.”

Rantaro slumps.

“B-But I can have a word with Angie about letting you join!” Tsumugi compromises. “If you don’t feel safe with the others then I’m sure Angie will let you in her group if you ask her enough. Right now, I think she’s looking for any excuse to let more people join her.”

“She is?”

“Well,” Tsumugi looks to the side. “Angie’s council is lacking in members. Even though Angie is trying to ignore Harukawa’s existence, she is still here. I understand why Angie doesn’t want her around though. I wouldn’t want to compete with an assassin in a killing game. If Harukawa decides that she’s had enough of this place…”

“Harukawa isn’t like that,” Rantaro quickly comes to Maki’s defence. “She’s been trying the tunnels too.”

“She has?”

“Yeah. The way I see it, the more Angie tries to push for us all to stay here, the more the rest of us are going to rebel. Shirogane, are you sure that you really want to stay here forever? Don’t you have people to see? Places to go?”

Tsumugi bites her lip. “Well, I do but-”

“Then leave Angie’s council. She can’t do much if she only has four people.”

“That’s,” Tsumugi wraps her arms around herself. “Amami, I’m not sure if that is possible at the moment.”

“Why?”

“Um...it’s complicated. But...I do want to leave this place eventually.”

Rantaro feels hopeful. “Then-”

“But I can’t leave the council!” Tsumugi says. “Not yet.”

Rantaro can’t deny that he feels disappointed. He leans back against the wall in defeat.

“But maybe,” Tsumugi hesitantly says, “I can be like a double agent! Oh! I’ve always liked that trope! I know that it can be cheesy sometimes when it’s too obvious but I’m totally sure that no one would suspect a plain person like me!”

“You want to be a double agent?” Rantaro asks.

“Yes! Don’t you think that it would be a great idea?” Tsumugi’s eyes shine. “I get to stay with Angie and away from Harukawa and you get information about what Angie is doing! I think that is very fair, don’t you?”

“Well it certainly would be a help,” Rantaro admits.

“Then it’s sorted!” Tsumugi snatches up one of Rantaro’s hands and squeezes it tightly. “I’ll be a double agent! We’ll meet...in my room every night after the nighttime announcement has been made!”

“What if I get caught?”

“Um,” Tsumugi says, “you’ll have to make sure that you don’t.”

Rantaro supposes that is fair. “Is there anything that we should know right now?”

“Oh! Yes! Later on today Angie is going to try and convince you that Monokuma is coming back! If I’m correct, Ouma is going to make something to hack into the monitors and maybe find something to impersonate Monokuma’s voice. Chabashira is going to make a Monokuma statue and they’re going to use that to try and make it seem that he’s back! Don’t worry! From what I know, Monokuma actually isn’t back, although I really have no idea where he went.” Tsumugi’s eyes wander off to the side. “Which is...scary.”

“He’s not allowed to hurt us,” Rantaro reminds her. 

“A-Ah, yeah,” Tsumugi lets out an embarrassed laugh. “Then I’ll be okay! If that’s everything, I really need to get going now. Angie will be wondering where I am.”

Tsumugi scurries off and Rantaro decides to head back to the tunnels to tell the others about Angie’s plan. 

\---

Kirumi hides behind a wall whilst Shuichi knocks on Angie’s lab door. It only takes a couple of seconds before Angie opens the door wide.

“Oh, Shuichi!” Angie sounds surprised. “Um, Angie was totes not expecting you right now.”

Shuichi watches as Angie steps out and closes the door. “H-Hi, Angie.”

“Quick, quick! Angie does not have all day. What does Shuichi want?”

“I-Is Chabashira with you?”

“Tenko?” Angie raises an eyebrow. “Why does Shuichi want to know where Tenko is? She is a very busy person right now, Shuichi. She’s got an entire academy to protect, you know!”

“I understand that,” Shuichi quietly says. He notices from the corner of his eye Kirumi shuffle. “But it wasn’t me who was looking for her, it was Yumeno.”

“Yumeno?”

Shuichi hopes that Angie will buy his lie. Kirumi and Shuichi had saw Himiko downstairs in the library around ten minutes ago. There’s no way that she would’ve been able to get upstairs before they had. 

“Hmm,” Angie rubs her chin. “Tenko really is busy right now but if it’s Yumeno who wants to see her...then why didn’t she come up herself?”

“Huh?”

Angie throws her arms out dramatically. “All the student council members know that they are welcome into Angie’s lab anytime they want! We even have a secret knock, you see. Angie was a little reluctant to open the door but she’s glad that it was you who knocked actually! Angie has a lot of things she needs to ask you, Shuichi!”

“You do?”

“Come!”

Shuichi yelps as Angie drags him inside of her lab. He’s even more startled when she suddenly flicks a switch and the room falls into darkness.

“Angie! Tenko can’t see if you turn off all the lights!”

“Sorry, Tenko!” Angie doesn’t sound apologetic at all. “But Angie needs to talk to Shuichi and there are some things in here that he can’t see.”

“Are you sure you can’t have the lights on?” Shuichi asks, nervously adjusting to the darkness of the room. He feels Angie gently hold onto his wrist as she pulls him further into her lab. She then instructs him to sit down and when he does, he’s relieved when there is a chair under him. 

He hears Angie take a seat next to him and Tenko trip over something as she tries to navigate herself around the room. 

“Shuichi,” Angie suddenly softly takes hold of one of Shuichi’s hands. Despite being an artist, her hands are soft. “Did you have a nice sleep last night?”

“Huh?”

“It must’ve been really uncomfortable down in the tunnels.”

It was. Shuichi had been rather cold sleeping down there and ended up having to use his jacket to keep warm. He was thankful when Kaede had woken him up with a hot cup of tea. “Y-Yeah.”

“So Angie thinks that you should tell everyone to come back up to the academy! Angie isn’t angry at anyone, she just really needs to block the tunnel. You understand, right?”

“Sorry Angie but I can’t do that,” Shuichi says softly. He feels Angie run her thumb over his knuckles and he clears his throat. “None of us want to be stuck here. We all want to leave.”

“Angie knows that but she really is just trying to do what is best for everyone,” Angie explains. “So if keeping everyone here will keep everyone safe then Angie will find a way to do that. You have to make hard decisions as a leader, you know?”

“Yeah, but-”

“And Kaede failed to make any decisions really. She failed to stop people from sharing motive videos and even failed to realise that someone in the group is an assassin. Angie doesn’t think that Kaede has been a very good leader lately,” Angie says in one breath. “So Angie thinks that it’s only fair that she gets a turn of being a leader. Surely you must understand Angie, Shuichi?”

“That’s not fair,” Shuichi responds quietly. “Akamatsu is trying her best. She was the only one to try and lead this group.”

“Um, yeah but she failed,” Angie says. “So, it’s Angie’s turn. Isn’t that right, Tenko?”

“Tenko thinks that...there needs to be some changes, yes,” Tenko says. 

“But to trap everyone in the academy,” Shuichi responds desperately. “I don’t want to stay here forever!”

“Silly Shuichi,” Angie says. “Once Angie is done with this place then it’ll be like a paradise. Angie promises that she’ll try and keep all the good students safe!”

“By good students you mean the people in your council,” Shuichi runs a hand through his hair. “That still leaves you with a lot of other students that could be put in danger because of your actions. What if someone decides to revolt against you and you end up getting hurt?”

“Angie is touched that Shuichi cares about her,” Angie smiles in the dark. “But Shuichi doesn’t have to worry. Angie knows that Atua will protect her.”

Tenko clears her throat. “So why did you need to talk to Saihara anyway? I can’t work in the dark and if there is a nasty boy in the room.”

“Oh! That’s right!” Angie squeezes Shuichi’s hand. “Angie totes thinks that Shuichi should join her student council! Angie has been thinking all night who she should invite and Shuichi seems like the perfect person!”

“You want another boy in the council?!” Tenko cries in distress. No doubt that she’s throwing her hands up.

Shuichi feels himself freeze in surprise. “A-Angie, you know I don’t want to be in your council. I’m going to stay by Akamatsu’s side no matter what.”

“Angie thinks that is sweet but,” Angie continues to move her thumb. “A little birdie told me that Kaede might not last long in the tunnels.”

“H-Huh?”

“Kaede has been exhausting herself in the tunnels, correct?” Angie confidentiality says. “Maybe she’ll injure herself if she keeps it up.”

“How did you...did Ouma tell you?”

“Even when Shuichi doesn’t have his talent he is still super smart! Angie is super impressed!” Angie smiles. “Angie knows that Kokichi went down to see you all. That was totally not planned so Angie was a little upset but he ended up telling me some important information so Angie forgave him.”

“Akamatsu is smart enough to know when to stop,” Shuichi tells her desperately. “And if she does try to push herself, she’ll have me. I won’t let Akamatsu hurt herself. I...really care about her.”

“And Angie sees that,” Angie continues. “So Angie thinks that Shuichi should join her council. If you join then Kaede will stop pushing herself because she cares about you too, correct? You two will follow each other wherever you go. It’s so romantic!”

“R-Romantic?!” Shuichi stutters. “It isn’t anything like that!”

“Hmph, nasty boys always tell nasty lies,” Tenko sighs. “Even Tenko can see that the two of you obviously like each other. Which reminds me, Tenko will not hesitate to teach you a lesson if you dare to upset Akamatsu!”

“But we’re not even dating,” Shuichi helplessly answers. 

Angie squeezes his hand tighter. “Even so, you wouldn’t want anything bad to happen to Kaede, yes? If Shuichi decides to join Angie’s council then he’ll be saving the entire group! Once Kaede leaves the tunnels then soon enough everyone else will! Then everything will become super peaceful again! Angie really doesn’t like all this tension.”

“What about Harukawa?” Shuichi suddenly asks. “You don’t even like her.”

“Don’t worry,” Angie responds. “Angie will soon find a place for her. Like Angie said, Angie has been thinking and she thinks that you joining her council will be very beneficial!”

“But...Akamatsu.”

“You want to look after her, right?” Angie asks. “Save her by joining Angie’s council. You know that she won’t give up the tunnels unless she has a good reason to. This is why Angie wants to get rid of all temptation at the academy!”

Shuichi pauses. Angie continues to hold his hand softly. He can’t deny that he feels somewhat safe being held by the new supreme leader. Even though all her ideas are crazy, Shuichi thinks he can see where she’s coming from. 

However, he’s loyal to Kaede.

But if she continues the way she is…

“Um, Tenko needs to go to the bathroom quickly,” Tenko says, finding her way towards the door. “Tenko will be right back.”

“Take your time,” Angie says. “Angie would like to talk to Shuichi some more!”

Tenko mentally yells that she will take her time thank you very much. She quickly leaves the room so that no light floods the art lab and intends to head outside for some fresh air. She’s startled when Kirumi suddenly slips out from behind a statue and stops her in the middle of the hallway. 

\---

“So you want Tenko to leave the council?”

“That is correct.”

Tenko and Kirumi sit outside on the decking, nursing a cup of tea each. Tenko blows on the liquid before taking a sip. 

“I know this is sudden,” Kirumi says, “but everyone would appreciate it if you left. Angie has only become your best friend recently because she believes that you can hear Atua, correct?”

Tenko startles. “Um, how did you figure that out?”

“It’s quite obvious,” Kirumi softly says. She would explain that due to her having Rantaro’s Survivor Talent, she is able to put two and two together more easily but she also wishes to not out Kiyo and his talent. “Well, Momota got Saihara’s talent and he figured it out. He told everyone last night.”

“Oh, Tenko sees.” The new artist kicks the air under the table. “Um, the problem is Tenko actually can’t hear Atua and she doesn’t want to hurt Angie’s feelings. Tenko isn’t sure that Angie understands that Tenko does not believe in her God.”

“That does seem to be a problem,” Kirumi agrees. 

Tenko nods desperately. “Tenko has been trying to tell Angie but she never listens! She’s just been trying to find ways to block off the academy so that we can’t leave. Tenko knows that she’s just trying to help but Tenko really wants to leave!”

“So you don’t agree with Angie’s plans?”

“That’s right,” Tenko says softly. “But Tenko can’t leave the council if Yumeno is in it. If Tenko upsets Angie then Tenko really has no idea what she will do.”

“I think that Yumeno will follow you anywhere,” Kirumi informs her with a smile. “She only joined the council because you were in it, correct?”

“T-That’s not it,” Tenko shakes her head. “Tenko doesn’t think Yumeno likes her very much.”

This is a surprise to Kirumi. She was under the impression that Himiko and Tenko were close. 

“She gets annoyed if Tenko follows her around but she also takes naps on me,” Tenko lists off, “and Tenko will do anything for Yumeno but she also doesn’t want to annoy her. Right now, Yumeno is very guarded with her emotions and Tenko doesn’t want to break what trust Yumeno has in Tenko right now.”

“That’s very noble of you,” Kirumi takes a sip of her tea. “But don’t you think that Yumeno would also like to leave this place too?”

“Of course!” Tenko blurts out. She quickly looks around to see if anyone else heard her. “But, um, Tenko is really sorry Tojo but things are really complicated right now. Tenko thinks that Tojo should convince everyone to leave the tunnels as soon as possible.”

“Chabashira?”

Tenko stands up abruptly, knocking her chair back. “Tenko will think about what you have said but right now Tenko thinks things would be much safer if you and everyone just come back to the academy. Angie isn’t upset with any of you. Just...please don’t stay down there for too long.”

Kirumi calls out for Tenko as the new artist runs back into the academy but either Tenko ignores her or she doesn’t hear her. Kirumi looks down at the two cups, both of them half empty. She decides that Tsumugi can clean them up as she heads back to the tunnels to talk to everyone. 

\---

Rantaro is talking to Kiyo when Kirumi climbs down the ladder. 

“You have finally returned,” Kiyo says. “I was starting to get worried.”

“I am fine,” Kirumi tells him. “I was simply talking to Chabashira. I had to wait a while for her to leave Angie’s lab.”

“Is, um, Saihara still in there?” Kaede asks. She looks tired. Her skin is pale and shiny with sweat. There’s no doubt that she’s been in the tunnels all day. 

“I presume so,” Kirumi says. “He should be okay. I would like to think that Chabashira would’ve said something if Angie did try to do anything.”

“One would think that it wouldn’t be too difficult to get past Angie,” Kiyo comments. “She is rather small. Surely Shuichi would be able to run away from her if things really did get dangerous.”

“Maybe I should go up and check on him,” Kaede quickly says as she heads for the ladders. 

Kaito puts a hand on her shoulder. “He’ll be fine! I have complete faith in my sidekick!”

“That doesn’t mean he can’t be hurt,” Maki points out. She’s sat on the floor and also looks exhausted. Have her and Kaede been in the tunnels all day?

Kaede blinks at her before starting to climb up the ladder. However, when she is half way up she spots Angie peering over the edge of the hole. Kaede quickly scurries back down the ladder. 

“Yoo hoo!” Angie calls down. “Angie sees that no one has moved yet!”

“That’s because we won’t!” Kaito retorts. “We won’t let you take away our only way to escape!”

“Maybe there is another way,” Angie offhandedly says. “Come now, you all need to leave now!”

“Why is that?” Kiyo asks. “I see no reason to leave. We will stay here as long as we need to.”

“Um, Angie thinks that a real shame but she also thinks that it’s super dangerous if you all stay down there,” Angie explains. “Angie saw Monokuma just a couple of minutes ago and she thinks that you’ll all be in danger if you all stay down there!”

“What?!” Only Kirumi sounds alarmed. “If Monokuma is back then…”

The monitor down in the tunnels flickers to life. On the screen is sat what looks to be Monokuma. The scene looks rather strange. The bear is sitting somewhere dark so that it’s impossible to tell where he is. 

Monokuma opens and closes his mouth but no sound comes out. 

“What the hell is this?” Maki asks. She looks rather unimpressed. 

Even Angie looks startled as she stares at the screen. “Angie thought that…”

It’s clear that something is wrong when Monokuma’s arm suddenly pops off and the screen instantly shuts off. 

“That was strange,” Kaito scratches his head. 

“It was unimpressive,” Kaede crosses her arms. 

Rantaro raises an eyebrow. “I thought that the Ultimate Inventor and Artist would’ve done a better job than that.”

Angie bristles at the top of the hole before abruptly running off without another word. 

“Amami? Do you know something?” Kirumi asks. 

“He told us before you arrived so I’m afraid you’re the only one out of the loop,” Kiyo says. “It seems Shirogane has decided to become a double agent and will be feeding information to Rantaro about what is happening in the council. He explained just earlier that they’ll be trying to trick us with a fake Monokuma.”

“I see,” Kirumi responds. “But that was a rather poor attempt of recreating Monokuma. Even his arm fell off. It’s like they weren’t even trying.”

Rantaro’s eyes widen. “If that’s the case then…”

“Maybe Chabashira and Ouma are trying to otherthrow the council themselves?” Kaede suggests. “They would be the ones working on the Monokuma.”

“Perhaps they aren’t used to their talents yet?” Kiyo supplies. 

“Nah, they both probably knew what they were doing,” Kaito states. He reaches into his pocket momentarily before quickly withdrawing his hand. “Which is probably a good thing for all of us! I don’t see Angie’s council lasting more than a day at this point.”

“That’s good and all but where’s Saihara?” Kaede asks. “I thought that he would be back by now.”

“And if Angie is done talking to him,” Kirumi puts a hand to his chin. “Then he should be back here by now.”

“That’s it,” Kaede says loudly. “I’m going to look for him.”

“M-Me too,” Kaito agrees, quickly following Kaede up the ladder. “The rest of you need to stay down here in case Angie decides to come back. We can’t let her block off the tunnels!”

“Right,” Rantaro mumbles. He feels his stomach churn as he hears Kaito and Kaede dash away from the tunnels and he can hear a door being pushed into a wall. 

Kiyo seems unfazed as he sits by the tunnel entrance. “I wonder if Saihara is okay.”

Maki quietly shuffles in the corner into a more uncomfortable position. Even though she remains silent, her face betrays what she’s probably thinking. 

“I hope so,” Kirumi murmurs as she slides down the wall and sits down. 

Silently, Rantaro joins her helplessly.


	14. Chapter 14

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter purposely misses out quite a bit of information and perhaps feels like it's missing some conversations. However, I didn't want to give much away in this chapter so if the chapter seems weirdly paced, it's probably because it is. I'm still hoping that I still wrote this chapter well!
> 
> Thank you for the kudos!
> 
> I hope you all enjoy!

Kaede runs all the way to the academy with a heavy heart. Behind her she can hear Kaito yell for her but his words blur into nothing as her feet slam against the steps. She pushes open the doors with newfound strength before she takes off up the many sets of stairs to get to Angie’s lab. 

“Kaede! Slow down just a second!” Kaito pants heavily as he turns a corner, almost skidding over in the process. He sighs heavily as Kaede does not slow down but instead seems to go even faster. 

She runs through the creepy part of the academy with no fear as she nears Angie’s lab. When she reaches the first door, she tugs on it desperately only to find that it’s locked. She grunts as she dashes for the next door and feels more than devastated when she finds that it’s also locked. Kaede gives the door a few firm tugs before pulling her hand away in irritation, glaring at the door with fire in her eyes. 

“Saihara!” Kaede calls, knocking wildly on the door. “Saihara, are you in there?!”

“Kaede, fuck, you need to calm down!” Kaito puts his hands on his knees as he tries to get his breath back. “Geez...I’m not used to...running this much…”

Kaede ignores him in favour of taking a couple of steps back. She rolls her sleeves up and takes in a deep breath before bolting towards the door and jumping. Her foot connects with the wooden door and it smashes into pieces, splinters flying everywhere. Kaede shoves her hand through the newly made hole and unlocks the door from the outside before entering the dark room, leaving an open mouthed Kaito to gape at her as she fumbles around for a lightswitch. 

She feels sick as her fingers finally connect with the switch and she turns the lights on, momentarily blinding herself as she blinks rapidly to look around the room. Kaede glances around the room. 

There’s a couple buckets of paints scattered around the room. Upon closer inspection Kaede realises that there is quite a few buckets of black and white paint. There is also a smaller bucket of red paint tucked away in the corner. 

Kaito wipes the sweat from his forehead as he steps into the room, frowning as he realises that the ex detective isn’t actually in the room. He does however, quickly spot something that makes his stomach churn in a way that isn’t caused by his illness. Kaito crouches down on the wooden floor and looks at the small splatters of pink blood that stains the floor. 

“Kaito, what is that?” Kaede’s voice is high and hysterical as she crouches down next to him. She only has to look at the splatters for a second before she’s running out of the room again. 

From his position, Kaito can hear Kaede shout for Shuichi as she runs through the supposedly haunted halls. He picks himself up and slaps his cheeks, trying to psyche himself up. He’s Kaito Momota! He believes in all his sidekicks. Surely, Shuichi is fine and there will be a simple explanation for why there is blood in Angie’s lab. 

Kaito heads back out of the lab and follows the sound of Kaede’s voice which echoes loudly around the academy. He rapidly darts out of the creepier part of the academy and down the next set of steps too. There’s no sign of Kaede but Kaito does quickly spot another droplet of blood on the floor outside of the bathrooms. Then, Kaito spots another droplet only a couple of feet away. He follows the trail until he reaches the dining hall. 

He needs to be quick if he’s going inside. The night time announcement is going to go off at any given moment. Kaito pokes his head through the doors and is more than surprised when he realises that the lights are on. 

“Oh, Momota!” Tsumugi says with wide eyes. “I wasn’t expecting to see you here! Do you need anything?”

She’s holding a first aid kit in her pale hands. Tsumugi looks up at Kaito with a small smile before turning her attention to someone else in the room. 

Sat at the table, Shuichi holds a tissue to his nose that is dyed a bright pink. He ducks his head away when Kaito spots him and for a moment, Kaito is confused. Why isn’t Shuichi happy to see him?

“We’ll have to be quick,” Tsumugi says as she sits in front of Shuichi. “The night time announcement will be going off soon! I think that there’s a bandage in here that I can quickly put on your nose though…”

Tsumugi rummages through the first aid kit at the same time Kaito pushes his way into the room. 

“Shuichi! What happened to you?” Kaito asks, heading over to check out the injury for himself. “Everyone was worried about you.”

“Why would you all be worried?” Tsumugi tilts her head. “Saihara is fine! See?”

“Well I know that now,” Kaito huffs. “It’s just he never came back to us after Angie tried to trick us with Monokuma. Which was pretty fucking dumb. The statue that was made didn’t even look like Monokuma!”

“She did?” Tsumugi blinks like she’s innocent. “Did they not birth a Monokuma properly?”

Kaito raises an eyebrow. “Don’t act stupid. Amami has already told us that you’re going to be giving us information or some shit.”

“You are?” Shuichi questions. His nose looks sore but from what Kaito can tell, it’s not broken. There is however a nasty looking cut just on the bridge of the nose. Tsumugi carefully places a white plaster over the cut after she cleaned it. 

Tsumugi giggles nervously. “Um, well I didn’t expect Amami to tell everyone but yeah. I’m still going to be apart of Angie’s council but I would also like it if we could leave eventually. I think things would get pretty boring if we’re all just stuck here. Don’t you agree, Saihara?”

Shuichi opens and closes his mouth before hiding his face away. 

Kaito puts a hand on the back of Shuichi’s chair. “Shuichi? What’s wrong? You know that you can tell me anything, right?”

“Um, yeah, but-”

“So that means you should tell me what’s bothering you right now!” Kaito slams his fists together. “My sidekick’s problems are also my problems, you know? So, out with it! The great Kaito Momota can help you with absolutely anything!”

Shuichi bites his lip and it seems that he’s about the answer before the dining room doors open once more. Monophanie smiles sweetly at the small group of three. 

“The night time announcement will be playing momentarily! Would everyone please leave the dining room?”

Tsumugi gathers up the first aid kit and scurries out of the room whilst Kaito drapes a comforting arm around Shuichi’s shoulders as they all follow the pink bear from out of the room. Mononphanie locks the dining room door before leaving in a blink of an eye. 

“So, what were you going to say?” Kaito asks. 

“Well,” Shuichi plays with the sleeve of his jacket. “I’ve actually...joined Angie’s council.”

“You’ve what?!”

Kaede races up to the group of three with a heavy look of dismay on her face. She shakes her head furiously at Shuichi. 

“But you can’t!”

“I already have,” Shuichi responds quietly. “And I really think that everyone should leave the tunnels too.”

“Shuichi! Have you lost your mind?” Kaito roughly shakes Shuichi’s shoulders. “We were supposed to stop Angie’s council, not join it! Did you get the plan mixed up?”

“I feel like I’m not supposed to be here,” Tsumugi says out loud. 

Kaede spins around to face her, her eyebrows pressing together. “Shirogane, tell him he can’t join the council! Even you’re betraying it!”

“That’s completely different,” Tsumugi offhandedly states. “Saihara has joined the council for a completely different reason to me. I don’t think it’s entirely fair for you to dictate whether people join Angie’s council or not.”

A frustrated sound leaves Kaede as she turns back to Shuichi. “How did you even hurt yourself anyway? Did Angie do this to do? If she did then I’m going to have to-”

“I tripped,” Shuichi admits, sounding more than embarrassed. “I spent most of the day in Angie’s lab and I knocked over a cup of paintbrushes. When I tried to pick them up, I ended up hitting my, um, face off a box and cut my nose.”

Kaito rubs his chin. “That does explain the blood that was on the floor.”

“Kaito!” Kaede grabs his arm. “We can’t just let Saihara join Angie’s council!”

“Oh yeah!” Kaito’s eyes go wide in realisation. “Come on, bro. Let’s just head back to the tunnels. I don’t know what bullshit Angie has been feeding you but it’s clear is hasn’t been anything good. You really can’t buy into her crap.”

“But Momota, she-”

“Come on, Saihara,” Kaede pulls on his arm. “Let’s go now before Angie comes back. You know that she’s up to no good.”

“I know that but I really think that-”

“Um, maybe the two of you should listen to Saihara instead of forcing him to go somewhere he clearly doesn’t want to be,” Tsumugi suddenly says, her eyebrows dipping as she frowns at Kaede and Kaito. “Shame on you both! A true friend would listen to what their friend has to say!”

“Woah!” Kaito’s mouth swings open. “Of course I’m gonna listen to my sidekick! It’s just not safe to do so here. I know you have your own agenda or whatever but if Angie spots us up here she’s gonna think that she’s won!”

“Of course we’re going to listen to Saihara,” Kaede says firmly. “So just, drop it.”

Kaede reluctantly lets go of Shuichi’s arm, which drops to his side. Shuichi wishes that he has his hat right now but it’s currently still on top of Kaede’s head. He won’t ask for it back until she doesn’t need it anymore. 

“Come on, bro,” Kaito encouragingly says. “Whatever you say can wait until we get back to the tunnels, right? You were lying when you told Angie that you joined her council, weren’t you?”

Shuichi cringes as he takes a step back. “S-Sorry Momota but I really do think that-”

“Holy shit,” Kaito crosses his arms. “You really have joined her council!”

“Momota! Language!” Tsumugi shakes her head. 

Kaede feels a raw emotion tug at her heart. “Saihara, you want to be in Angie’s council? But why? I thought that we’re a team?”

“We are, Akamatsu,” Shuichi explains. “But I really do think that we should just listen to Angie for now. You’ll end up hurting yourself if you stay in the tunnels-”

“No I won’t,” Kaede says. “I’ve got Harukawa’s talent, remember? I can do so much more now and I know if I keep trying then I’ll reach the end of the tunnels!”

“But what if you don’t?” Shuichi asks desperately. “What if you hurt yourself or push yourself too hard? You don’t know your new limits yet! I heard you in the tunnels all night and...I’m really worried, Akamatsu. You’ve become so desperate to leave this place that-”

“She’s doing what’s best for the group,” Kaito retorts. “Shuichi, what the hell has Angie been telling you? Do you seriously want to be stuck here forever? Think about everyone who has died so far! Kiibo, Gonta, Hoshi! They all wanted us to leave and now you’re saying that we should just fucking give up?!”

“That’s wrong!” Tsumugi cries. “We’re not giving up! We’re just waiting for things to calm down and-”

“Stay out of this, Shirogane!” Kaito yells.

“Kaito! Don’t yell at her!” Kaede pulls him back slightly. 

“But they’re taking Angie’s side!” Kaito frustratedly points out. “Shuichi, I thought that you’re better than this!”

“I didn’t take her side because I want to stay here,” Shuichi tries to explain. “I just don’t want any of you to get hurt!”

“We won’t get hurt!” Kaito responds. “Don’t you remember that we’ve got an assassin and an aikido master on our side! Hell, we’ve even got Maki and even without her talent I’m sure she’ll be able to sort anyone out if she needed to!”

“Which she shouldn’t,” Kaede pointedly says. “Just, Saihara. Come back to the tunnels with us.”

“Wow, Momota! I didn’t think that you were this much of a bully!”

Kokichi’s shoes click against the floor as he idly waltzes by both Kaito and Kaede and happily places himself next to Shuichi’s side with his hands behind his back. He beams up at the two. 

“Ouma, we’re in the middle of something,” Kaede huffs.

“Oh, do you want me to leave?” Kokichi asks. 

“Yes fucking please,” Kaito sighs. 

Kokichi’s smile grows. “Well that’s too bad! Angie has asked me to round up everyone in the council to meet up so I really need to borrow Saihara and Shirogane right now!”

“That’s too bad because Saihara is busy,” Kaito states. “He’s about to come back to the tunnels with us-”

“Did Momota hit his head?” Kokichi’s head tilts to the side. “I just said that I need Saihara and Shirogane right now! So, you and Akamatsu can have your lovers spat somewhere else or something.”

“We’re not having one of those!” Kaede cries in alarm. “We just really-”

“Momota, did you get the message I gave you?” Kokichi quickly changes the subject. He looks at Kaito expectantly. 

Kaito runs a hand through his hair angrily. “Yeah, yeah. Didn’t pay any attention to it though. You’re not the first person to ask us to leave the tunnel.”

“Wait, when did Ouma give you a message?” Kaede asks. 

Reaching into his pocket, Kaito pulls out a folded piece of paper. “You must’ve put it into my pocket when you jumped into the tunnels.”

“Ding, ding ding! Correct! Wow, it’s super strange having a really smart Momota!” Kokichi’s eyes light up with glee. “I’ll have to make the most of it before he turns super dumb again! Although, I’ll still love you no matter what state you are in!”

“Oh my,” Tsumugi puts a hand to her mouth. 

“I would really love to chat but Angie really wants to have a meeting!” Kokichi grabs onto Shuichi’s hand and Shirogane’s wrist as he drags them out of the academy. “Bye bye!”

“Wait a second!” Kaede moves to go after them but is stopped when Kaito places his hand on her shoulder. She looks up at him. “Kaito?”

“Leave it, yeah. There’s nothing we can do about it tonight,” Kaito says quietly. “But I’m still really pissed. I thought he was smarter than this. Angie’s council, seriously?”

“He did say he wanted to join because he was worried about us,” Kaede softly points out. “Maybe we should leave the tunnels…”

Kaito lets out a breath. “No way! The moment we step out of that tunnel Angie is just gonna block it off. We’re gonna get out of here one day, I just know it. For now, we just need to protect the tunnels and shit.”

“R-Right.”

“Cheer up, Kaede!” Kaito flicks one of his thumbs up. “We’ll fetch Shuichi back to the tunnels tomorrow! Everything will be fine, you’ll see!”

\---

Rantaro heads back to the tunnels feeling rather disappointed. Tsumugi hadn’t given him any new information other than Angie was rather upset about the whole broken Monokuma problem. Apparently, whilst she had been smiling throughout the entire meeting, Tsumugi thought Angie was hiding her real anger. 

The tunnels are quiet as Rantaro climbs down the ladders. He spots Kaede enter the tunnels once more whilst Maki sits by the entrance with her eyes closed. Next to her is Kaito, who is snoring loudly. In the corner of the room is Kiyo, who seems to be fast asleep. However, when Rantaro spots Kirumi he is pleasantly surprised to see that she is still awake and even offers him a smile as he heads over to her. 

“Akamatsu is upset that Saihara joined Angie’s council,” Kirumi tells him. “She hasn’t left the tunnel yet.”

“Maybe someone should have a word with her,” Rantaro says lowly. He watches as Kaede once again walks out of the tunnels before heading straight back inside again. “Surely she must know that she’s not going to get that far on her own.”

“She won’t listen to anyone right now,” Kirumi says. “We’ve all tried several times to stop her but I’m not sure if she’s in the right mindset to actually hear anyone out. She’s even ignoring Momota.”

Rantaro leans back against the wall, trying to get comfortable. “That is a problem.”

“Yes,” Kirumi easily agrees. “If she carries on like this then who knows what will happen.”

“She’ll exhaust herself. That’s what will happen.”

Maki slowly opens her eyes and ignores the glare that Kaede sends her as she once again fails the tunnel. Maki doesn’t say a word as Kaede storms past her and again, enters the tunnel desperately. 

“Harukawa, can’t you say anything to her?” Rantaro asks. “Surely you could convince her that even assassins have limits.”

“Not really,” Maki responds. “We never had limits. Then again, where I come from we were trained from a young age to withstand certain conditions. I certainly have a higher endurance than everyone here, even if I don’t have my talent. Akamatsu might’ve gotten my talent but that doesn’t mean that she has suddenly become invincible.”

“Perhaps you should try and explain that to her,” Kirumi suggests. “Maybe she’ll listen to you.”

Maki scoffs. “You really think that she’ll listen to me after everything that has happened? If she wants to play the hero and tire herself out in the tunnels then she can knock herself out. I’m smart enough to know when to stop.”

“But our entire group might be put at risk if Akamatsu keeps this up,” Rantaro hastily says. “We’ll lose some of our defense if Akamatsu exhausts herself. We can’t just rely on Shinguji to stop the entire council if Angie decides that she’s going to remove us all by force.”

“It’s not my problem,” Maki firmly responds. “But Angie has no chance of moving me unless she has a death wish.”

“Murdering each other won’t get us anywhere,” Kirumi says. “We’ll just end up alerting the monokubs about there being a murder. Perhaps Monokuma might even return and it’s safe to say that he has a lot of control around here.”

“And the mastermind,” Maki points out. “Although I wonder what the hell they’re up to right now.”

“Wouldn’t they be against Angie trying to put a stop to the killing game?” Rantaro wonders out loud. “You’d think that they would try and stop Angie by now.”

“Maybe they already have,” Maki’s eyes narrow. “The Monokuma statue that Angie tried to trick us with was clearly tampered with.”

Kirumi flicks her hair from her face. “The ones who made it was Chabashira and Ouma.”

“Then that means we’ve got more possible candidates of who could be the mastermind,” Maki says darkly. “Chabashira and Ouma. Chabashira doesn’t have a particularly tricky talent right now and I could easily trap Ouma if I needed to.”

Rantaro quickly shakes his head. “Wait, wait, wait. We can’t just jump to conclusions. We have no evidence that either of them are the mastermind. Besides, if the Monokuma statue had been sabotaged then both of them had to be in on it since they both worked together on it. I highly doubt that both Chabashira and Ouma are working together as two masterminds.”

“Indeed,” Kirumi agrees. “That would be a rather strange team. Chabashira clearly hates males and Ouma doesn’t seem like the type who would want to work with Chabashira.”

Maki sulks. “It was just a suggestion. Doesn’t mean that I’m wrong though. Ouma has been acting rather strange lately, especially towards you, Amami.”

“He was upset that you hid your perk away from him,” Kirumi says. “I would never have thought that he would take it this personally though.”

Rantaro helplessly shrugs. “I’m not sure what his problem is right now but I am going to try and sort things out with him later.”

“What happened to your perk anyway?” Maki stretches her legs before leaning on one of them. “Monokuma took it, right?”

“He probably still has it,” Rantaro responds sadly. “And since he’s gone I haven’t been able to get it back from him.”

“I wouldn’t worry too much,” Maki says. “Nothing good had come from it anyway. The only good thing to come from it is the layout of the academy but I’ve already memorised all the floors, new and old.”

Kaede stumbles out from the tunnels and gives Maki a hard stare when she trips over her leg. She wordlessly heads back into the tunnels whilst Maki glowers at the stop where Kaede once was. 

“Momota has been trying to make me apologise to her all day,” Maki mutters. “Idiot.”

“But don’t you think that an apology is in order?” Kirumi asks. “You did try to kill her after all. I wouldn’t be pleased if someone tried to kill me right now.”

“It doesn’t mean I have to,” Maki says firmly.

“Just...try and get along for now,” Rantaro pleads. 

Maki rolls her eyes. “What do you think I’ve been doing all day? It’s not my fault Akamatsu is in a bad mood because her boyfriend decided to join Angie’s stupid council.”

“I am rather surprised myself that Saihara decided to join Angie’s council,” Kirumi says. “She must’ve promised him something or said something to him for him to join. I can’t see him joining just on a whim.”

“For now, I don’t think it matters why he joined,” Rantaro says. “As long as he or no one else gets hurt in the process then I think everything will be okay. From the sounds of things, Shirogane doesn’t think that Angie has any intentions about harming any of us here. She simply just wants to block off all known exits.”

“She’s delusional if she thinks we’ll just let her,” Maki replies. 

Kirumi nods. “I’m in agreement. I have no intention of ever letting a way of leaving this place be sealed away.”

“I thought you were supposed to convince Chabashira to talk to Angie,” Maki swaps legs to lean on. “Did you fail?”

“Not exactly,” Kirumi glumly says. “I did speak to her but she seemed very skittish. Like all the other members have said, she told us that we should leave the tunnels. However, I am also sure that she does want to leave this place too. It seems that Angie is only hanging around her so much because Angie thinks that Chabashira can hear her God. However, that is not the case.”

“Why would Angie think that?” Rantaro asks. 

“Because Chabashira received Angie’s talent,” Maki replies, sounding like the answer was the most obvious thing in the world. “Angie isn’t smart enough to realise that Chabashira doesn’t have the same beliefs as her. She just thinks because now Chabashira can do art, she can communicate with her God.”

“But Chabashira cannot,” Kirumi says. “So she’s found herself in a rather uncomfortable position. It seems that she’s unsure of what to do now. Chabashira doesn’t want to hurt Angie’s feelings.”

“Feelings don’t matter in a killing game,” Maki points out. “So what if she ends up upsetting Angie? Angie needs to grow up and realise that we can’t all live happily ever after here. Sooner or later we’re all going to have another forced time limit given to us and then someone else will end up dead.”

Kirumi puts a hand to her mouth. “But...won’t we eventually be given another time limit anyway? The whole point of this killing game is that we kill each other and participate in class trials. If Monokuma ends up getting bored then he’ll probably give us another time limit no matter what.”

“Monokuma isn’t here,” Rantaro weakly says.

“For now,” Maki sighs. “He’ll come back in the end. When he realises that no one is killing each other he’ll find another way to force us to.”

The trio sit in a heavy silence. Once again, Kaede leaves the tunnels. She spares the group a single glance before she goes back into the tunnels. 

“She’s going to tire herself out,” Kirumi says. “I shall speak with her one last time.”

Kirumi heads into the tunnels after Kaede. A couple of minutes pass before she returns from the tunnels in defeat. Kaede does not follow behind her.

“She really won’t listen to anyone?” Rantaro disappointedly questions. 

“That is correct,” Kirumi sits back down onto the floor. “I am starting to worry deeply about her. I’m not sure how much longer she can run around like this.”

“She’ll just end up knocking herself out,” Maki nonchalantly points out. “It isn’t a big deal. We’ll just let her throw her tantrum then she’ll sleep it off.”

“That’s not the point,” Rantaro sighs. “It’s too dangerous for anyone to lower their guard right now. She really needs to stop this.”

Maki rolls her eyes. “Then go ahead and try and stop her. She won’t listen to anyone and I highly doubt that she’ll listen to you. Just leave it. It’s like I said, she’ll wear herself out and then she’ll have to stop.”

“But still,” Kirumi’s eyes hover over at the tunnels. “No, you’re right. There simply isn’t anything we can do right now. We’ll just have to wait until tomorrow until we try and talk to her once more.”

Rantaro feels frustration as he goes to sleep, a frown growing on his face as he closes his eyes. Why is everything going wrong?

\---

Rantaro wakes up with Kaito shaking him awake. Kaito smiles at him before pushing a cup of tea in his direction.

Behind Kaito, Maki is pulling out several packages from a white backpack. Rantaro quickly realises that the packages are simply breakfast and accepts one when Maki throws one over at him. 

“Akamatsu, it’s time for breakfast,” Maki firmly says. 

Kaede pokes her head from out of the tunnels, not bothering to hide her look of disgust.

“There’s no time for breakfast,” Kaede responds. “I’m so close to-”

“I’m not arguing,” Maki says. “Either grab your breakfast or starve.”

Kaito runs a hand through his hair. “Maybe you should be a little nicer.”

Maki ignores him and leaves a cup and package on the floor for Kaede. She starts eating her own breakfast wordlessly, nibbling on an apple without a care in the world. 

Even from where he’s sitting, Rantaro can see how exhausted Kaede looks. Her skin is pale and clammy, there’s dark bags under her eyes, her movement is noticeably a lot more slow and her entire body trembles as she enters the tunnel yet again. How long can she go on like this?

“Oh dear,” Kiyo says, sipping his tea. “I never would’ve imagined that she would become like this.”

“She’s just trying to reach the exit,” Kaito weakly points out. “But even an astronaut would know when to quit…”

“Is this all because Saihara joined Angie’s council?” Kiyo asks. “She seems to be overreacting just a touch if that is the case.”

Maki scowls. “Then maybe you should tell her that yourself. Right now she isn’t listening to anyone and you know that.”

Kiyo recoils, shuffling away from Maki. “Yes, right.”

“So what are the plans for today?” Kirumi asks. “I assume that we’re going to continue to try and convince the others to stop listening to Angie’s group?”

“Or we could wait them out,” Kiyo says. “From what I’ve gathered, many of the members don’t actually want to be in the group. Shirogane certainly isn’t being loyal towards Angie due to her traitorous ways and Chabashira and Ouma did fail spectacularly when they created that Monokuma statue. Surely Angie will figure out that her council isn’t loyal to her and give up eventually.”

Rantaro shakes his head. “Even if that is the case, it’s dangerous to let her think she has this much power. If we do nothing then she’ll consider that a win because essentially, we’re all just stuck down here.”

“And I don’t think anyone is getting through those tunnels,” Kaito huffs. 

“That’s because they’re probably a trap,” Maki says. “I thought everyone would have realised that by now. Why on earth would Monokuma make an exit so obvious otherwise? It’s like with Amami’s tablet, he’s trying to trick us all. I can’t believe Akamatsu hasn’t figured that out for herself.”

“Maybe she has and she’s just in denial,” Kirumi says. “Even I like to think that’ll we’ll get through the tunnels one day.”

“Your optimism never fails to astound me,” Kiyo happily says, spreading his arms out. “It’s so beautiful!”

Kaito ignores Kiyo’s strange display of affection. “Yeah, you’re right, Tojo! We are going to complete the tunnels one day!”

Kaede stumbles out from the tunnels, landing on her knees. She gives the group a rough look as she pulls herself up the ground, ignoring all the concerned looks that are thrown her way. 

“Kaede! You need to stop!” Kaito calls after her. He follows her into the tunnels.

Maki sighs. “Idiot.”

“If Momota can’t convince her to stop then I don’t think that anyone else will be able to stop her either,” Kiyo says. “Although, perhaps if we manage to bring Saihara down then maybe she’ll stop for him?”

“Yeah, that might work,” Rantaro agrees. He brushes off some crumbs that are on his legs. “We should head up now and fetch him.”

“I see,” Kirumi says. “If we tell him about the state Akamastu is in then perhaps he is more likely to leave Angie’s council.”

“I thought the whole point of him joining the council was to stop Akamatsu from hurting herself,” Maki states. “It seems that it’s done the exact opposite.”

“Which is why we should head up now and get him,” Rantaro says. “Before Akamatsu really does get hurt.”

He decides to climb up the ladders and head to the academy to confront Shuichi himself. He hears footsteps follow behind him and simply nods as Maki walks by his side. She looks at the academy with a look of disdain, clearly still sore about Angie’s words from the other day. 

The two head into the academy together and silently decide that the best place to look for people first is the dining hall. They both walk to the dining hall together, faces blank as they push open the doors.

They had been correct to assume that everyone would be there. Angie sits at the head of the table, hands clasped together in a prayer. Tenko and Himiko sit side by side, both of them shovelling spoons of rice into their mouths. Tsumugi is currently inside the kitchen. Kokichi is sat at the other end of the table, scribbling on a piece of paper with a purple crayon whilst Miu talks loudly next to him. Surprisingly, Shuichi is sat next to Kokichi, looking at the pieces of paper with heavy intrigue. 

Angie clears her throat when she sees Rantaro and Maki standing in the doorway. 

“Um, what are you doing here, Rantaro?”

Maki clicks her tongue and turns her head so that she doesn’t have to look at Angie. 

Rantaro clears his throat. “Saihara, I think it’s for the best that you come back down to the tunnels as soon as possible.”

“Why are you ignoring Angie?” Angie springs up from her chair. “Angie is the one who is in charge here so-”

“I don’t think that’s a good idea,” Shuichi responds softly. “It would be better if everyone else comes back up here.”

“Aren’t you all sick of being in the tunnels?” Himiko asks. “There’s probably a bunch of spiders or something down there.”

“And you will all probably get really bored being down there!” Tsumugi points out. “We won’t bite if you all come back up, you know! We plainly just want what’s best for everyone.”

“We don’t want the tunnels to be blocked,” Maki says. “We’ll come out if you promise that you’ll leave the tunnels alone.”

“Harukawa?” Rantaro whispers.

Angie shakes her head. “Uh, no. It’s very important that the tunnels get blocked off, you see. Angie would’ve blocked them off ages ago but Angie also doesn’t want to hurt anyone here. It’s been really frustrating actually! Angie has been really super generous letting you all stay down there for all this time but Angie has decided to seal off the tunnels today!”

“What if people are still down there?” Rantaro asks. “You won’t seal the tunnels knowing that there are people down there!”

“Angie has given them plenty of time to move!” Angie offhandedly says. “So, it’s not Angie’s fault if they decide to trap themselves!”

Maki glowers as she takes a step forward. 

Tenko quickly pushes herself up from her chair. “Tenko thinks that we should all just think about this together!”

“Does it really matter if we seal the tunnels off?” Kokichi asks. “It’s not like we’ll find any bodies if people do stay down there.”

“That’s not the point!” Rantaro cries. 

“Angie has given them a chance to move, you know?” Miu says. “I would know, I’ve listened to the fucking bobblehead repeat herself over and over.”

“Oh dear,” Tsumugi hugs a tray to her chest. “I think everyone should calm down and-”

“Calm down?” Maki asks. “Angie is suggesting that we might as well just kill off half of our group just because we won’t listen to her. Why the hell are you all still following her?”

Angie smiles. “Angie thinks that you have no room to talk! It wasn’t that long ago that you tried to kill Kaede!”

“That’s different,” Maki growls. 

“Um, but what if Angie actually traps the mastermind down there?” Angie asks. “Then Angie would’ve ended the game! Isn’t that great?”

“But you don’t know who the mastermind is!” Rantaro stresses. 

“Actually,” Maki says, “there’s probably a higher chance that the mastermind is in Angie’s group rather than down in the tunnels.”

“Really?” Tsumugi asks. “How come?”

“They have no reasons to be in the tunnels,” Maki says. “They know the tunnels are impossible to get through so they don’t need to keep an eye on anyone down there. However, it would make sense to keep an eye on Angie because I doubt the mastermind will just let the killing game come to a halt by us all deciding to live here instead of killing each other.”

Kokichi whistles. “Wow.”

Rantaro shoots Maki a surprised look. “You really think so?”

“T-Then I’ve been hanging out with the mastermind?” Miu stutters. “What the fuck?!”

Angie sighs. “Angie really is trying to be patient with you Maki but you’re making it really hard. Now look what you’ve done!”

“Perhaps Harukawa does have a point,” Shuichi says. 

“But what if she is right?” Tsumugi hugs herself tightly, a trickle of sweat rolling down her face. “What if the mastermind is in this room right now?”

“Relax, they are totally not!” Angie says. “Because Angie wouldn’t let the mastermind join her group so Maki is wrong! All she wants to do is cause trouble which is why Angie doesn’t want her in her paradise! Maki can return to the tunnels any time she wants to!”

Rantaro feels anger take a hold of him. “Are you suggesting that you want Harukawa to be in the tunnels when you block them?”

Angie lazily smiles. “Did Angie say that? No!”

Maki sends Angie a hard glare before storming over to Shuichi. “You need to come to the tunnels right now. I’m not taking no for an answer.”

Thankfully, Shuichi gets up from his chair and follows Maki out of the room with no arguing. Rantaro is about to follow the two out when he hears Angie start to speak once more. 

“Angie really doesn’t like traitors.”

Rantaro leaves. 

Outside, Shuichi looks pale. “I didn’t think that things would get this bad.”

“Well they have,” Maki says. “And you need to go into the tunnels and sort Akamatsu out before someone really does die. I’m not about to let the killing game start up again because she can’t handle her emotions.”

Shuichi scurries off towards the tunnels without another word, worry plastered onto his face. 

“We can still protect the tunnels without being inside of them,” Maki says as Rantaro approaches her. “It’s clear that it’s too dangerous to be down there anymore. Angie has made it obvious that she won’t hesitate to trap anyone down there.”

“As long as we don’t let her get near the tunnels we should be okay,” Rantaro agrees. “Perhaps we should simply guard the doors instead.”

“That would be a safer idea,” Maki says. “We should probably ask Shinguji to be around the doors at all times so if anyone does try to get to the tunnels…”

“Right.” Rantaro opens the door to the tunnels and allows Maki to step inside. 

He can hear Kaede from the top of the tunnels.

“Why did you join Angie’s group?” Kaede asks loudly. 

“Because I was worried this would happen!” Shuichi responds. “Look at yourself! You’ll collapse if you keep this up.”

“I said I’m fine!”

Kaito’s voice cuts in. “Kaede, he does have a point. We don’t need to be in the tunnels anymore! You can stop now!”

“Stop? I can’t stop until I get us out of here! The longer we wait around the more likely something really bad is going to happen and I just...I can’t let anything happen to anyone! Not again!”

“Akamatsu, you can’t keep blaming yourself for everything that has already happened,” Kirumi tells her. “You simply can’t control everything.”

“But if there is the smallest chance I can get us out of here...then I’m going to take it,” Kaede firmly says. 

Rantaro hears her run back into the tunnels. 

There’s some shuffling around before people start to climb out of the tunnels. Kirumi climbs out first then Kiyo and then Kaito. 

Kaito sighs heavily as he puts a fist to his hip. “Geez, she’s stubborn.”

“Like I said, she’ll tire herself out,” Maki dismissively says. “There’s no reason for her to be down there anymore. She can figure that out for herself.”

“Hopefully Saihara will be able to convince her to leave,” Kirumi says. 

“Of course he will!” Kaito puts a thumb up. “He’s my sidekick! I believe in him! I knew he’d come back to us eventually!”

“Maybe even more people will come back,” Kiyo gestures to the door that had been left open. 

Miu nervously shuffles inside, pausing momentarily before taking a rather dramatic step over the raised floorboard by the door. 

“U-Um, so you fuckers will let me stay with you all, right?” Miu asks. 

“You changed your mind?” Kaito blinks. “That’s great!”

“Yeah, well,” Miu twirls a strand of hair around her finger. “The stabby bitch said something earlier and, fuck, if she is right I don’t want to be in the council anymore.”

“Maki? What did you say?” Kaito asks.

Maki pouts. “Why do you think that I’m the stabby bitch?”

“Due to your nature of being an assassin,” Kiyo helpfully supplies. 

“She said that there’s a higher chance of the mastermind being in Angie’s council,” Rantaro explains. “Since they’re more likely to keep an eye on Angie rather than the tunnels since they’ve been rigged from the start.”

“That does make sense,” Kirumi holds her hands out in front of herself.

“T-Then why don’t we just c-confront Angie’s council now!” Miu suggests. “T-There’s not that many people to suspect.”

“Actually,” Maki says. “There’s one person in particular who is more suspicious than the rest of them.”

“Oh?” Kaito raises an eyebrow. “Really?!”

“You aren’t jumping to conclusions again, are you?” Kiyo questions. 

Maki scowls. “I still need to get more proof but I’m certain I’m right this time.”

“Very well,” Kiyo is satisfied with her answer. “So, what are our plans now?”

\---

Rantaro steps out of the shower with a satisfied sigh. After not being able to shower for a couple of days, the warm water had been pleasant as well as welcoming. He missed feeling this clean. 

He swaps out his dirty clothes for a fresh set and reaches for his door handle when he hears scratching come from his wardrobe. Rantaro pauses, wondering if he had simply imagined the sound when he hears it again. He heads over to the wardrobe and flings open the doors only to find a rather disgruntled looking Monokuma sat at the bottom of his wardrobe.

“I can’t believe you just closed the door on me!” Monokuma cries. He knocks a shirt away from him. “Kids these days, how rude!”

“What the hell are you doing in here?!” Rantaro steps away from the wardrobe. “How long have you been in there?”

“Ages!” Monokuma wails. “How could you leave me waiting for so long! I feel like Juliet lying in wait for her Romeo to come save her.”

Rantaro sighs. “Why are you in my wardrobe of all places?”

“Because!” Monokuma unhelpfully says. “I’m the headteacher and I can be wherever I want! Now where have you been, Amami? I haven’t seen you in your room for ages!”

“You don’t know what’s going on?” Rantaro feels perplexed.

“Of course not!” Monokuma moans. “I have no idea where my children are and I beary afraid of them right now! How did it come to this, Amami? Whatever shall I do?!”

“I really don’t care,” Rantaro says and goes to close the wardrobe.

“W-Wait!” Monokuma pushes back against the door. “I came to give you this!”

Monokuma pulls out Rantaro’s perk from the wardrobe. “My perk?”

“I can’t believe you let so many people see it!” Monokuma pouts. “People weren’t supposed to discover this until much later on! Honestly, it’s such a shame that Akamatsu didn't kill you. Things would’ve been a lot more interesting if you were dead.”

Rantaro’s fists curl as he closes his eyes and takes a deep breath. “I don’t care about the perk anymore. Keep it.”

“No, you rightfully earned it!” Monokuma insists.

“What?”

“You heard me!” Monokuma smiles. “You earned it so you get to keep it! Quite frankly I don’t really care what you do with it anymore since I really have no idea what to do with you right now. You should be ashamed of yourself! Your entire presence has caused so much trouble for so many people!”

“I don’t understand,” Rantaro says. “What are you on about?”

“Me?” Monokuma grins. “Puhuhuhu. Who knows? I must say though, even if you really aren’t supposed to be here right now, things have certainly gotten interesting! Who would’ve thought, hey?” 

Monokuma forcefully presses the perk back into Rantaro’s hands before slipping back inside his wardrobe and firmly closing the doors behind him. It only takes Rantaro a couple of seconds before he picks up the tablet and throws it back into the wardrobe with a heavy clatter. He quickly walks out of his room when he hears Monokuma start to sob. 

Outside of his room, Rantaro sighs heavily and leans against the glass wall. He spots Kirumi and Tenko talking outside and decides that it would probably be better to stand with them rather than being on his own right now.

“Akamatsu is still running around in the tunnels?” Tenko asks quietly. “But she’ll tire herself out if she continues!”

“We are aware of that,” Kirumi responds. “But she simply won’t listen to anyone right now.”

“T-Then Tenko will go down and talk to her!” Tenko decides. “But Tenko thinks that she should also bring Akamatsu some lunch. You said that she never ate her breakfast?”

“That is correct,” Kirumi confirms sadly. “It was still on the floor when we checked the tunnels earlier. I am afraid that Akamatsu will not last any longer if she doesn’t start to look after herself properly.”

“Tenko agrees!” Tenko nods furiously. “And Tenko will do anything to protect the girls!”

“What about Angie?”

Tenko huffs. “Angie will have to wait right now. Tenko is a little annoyed at Angie because of what she said this morning. She said that she didn’t care if people were still in the tunnel if we sealed it up!”

Kirumi looks startled. “Perhaps she was just bluffing? Ouma tends to lie a lot. Perhaps it was just her new talent talking?”

“Tenko hopes so but she really isn’t happy right now,” Tenko firmly says. “Even if Tenko is still in Angie’s council, Tenko will do anything for all the girls! Thank you for telling me, Tojo.”

“You’re welcome,” Kirumi bows as Tenko rushes inside of the school.

Rantaro approaches Kirumi. “Is everything okay?”

“Oh, Amami! Yes, everything is fine. Chabashira is simply looking out for all the girls right now,” Kirumi says with a smile. “It’s nice to see her acting so normal for once.”

“That’s good,” Rantaro responds. “At least someone is happy.”

“Whatever do you mean?”

Rantaro grimaces. “I found Monokuma hiding in my wardrobe.”

A look of alarm flashes across Kirumi’s face. “I hoped that he would be gone for good.”

“Nope,” Rantaro pops the ‘P’ with a sound of frustration. “Turns out he was just hiding all this time. We spoke but I really didn’t understand what he was talking about. He even tried to give me my perk back but...I rather not deal with that right now.”

“Is he still inside your wardrobe?”

“Probably. Why?”

“Perhaps we should alert the monokubs about his whereabouts,” Kirumi suggests. “Then we might get rid of him for good.”

“But we’d still have to deal with the monokubs,” Rantaro says. “Right now, I don’t think it’s worth it. It simply means that Monokuma is still around so we’ll have to make sure that no one decides to kill someone else.”

“He’d come out of hiding if that happens,” Kirumi sighs. “And it’s probably for the best if he stays away.”

“I also think he doesn’t know what’s going on right now,” Rantaro says. “Which means he hasn’t been able to watch us lately.”

Kirumi raises an eyebrow. “Does that mean the mastermind doesn’t care that Monokuma is no longer around? I would think that they’d at least keep Monokuma up to date about what’s been going on.”

“Maybe they don’t know where Monokuma is,” Rantaro suggests. “Or something. I really don’t know right now.”

“This is so frustrating,” Kirumi sighs. “I’m sorry but I would love to talk more but I must be off somewhere. I promised Shirogane that I would help her out in the gym. It seems that Angie’s council have been a little shook up about what happened this morning because they seem to be more inviting now.”

“Oh, okay,” Rantaro says. He waves at her when she leaves and wonders what he should do with himself in the meantime. 

He doesn’t have to guard the tunnels yet. From what he remembers, Kiyo is keeping watch on his own for now whilst Kaede and Shuichi are still in the tunnels. Maki had forced Kaito to go to his room and rest after he had started coughing and Rantaro has no idea where Miu has gone. 

Rantaro instead decides to go somewhere he thinks that no one else will be and quietly slips into Gonta’s lab. 

It’s peaceful inside of the lab. All that the lab is missing is Gonta. Rantaro sadly walks around the tanks of insects and checks in on them all, adding in more leaves to the ones that seem a little too empty and reading a book that tells him how to look after the different insects. 

He misses Gonta. He’d been someone that Rantaro felt safe around. All Gonta had wanted was to become a perfect gentleman. The thought of Gonta not being able to achieve his dream makes Rantaro’s throat tight as he looks inside a box of ladybugs. They leap onto his hand when he puts his hand inside the tank and they tickle his palm as they start to wriggle around. When he’s done looking after them, he removes his hand and moves onto the next box. 

Why can’t he save anyone? Even though he now knows that his perk is a trap, Rantaro still feels guilty. Why did Kiibo have to sacrifice himself like that? Why did Gonta have to be at the wrong place at the wrong time? Why did Ryoma just give up like he did? Why are they all forced to play this stupid, stupid killing game?

He rubs his eyes when they start to sting and forces himself not to cry. No, he needs to be strong. Rantaro needs to find a way out of here so no one else has to die. He owes it to those who have died already. Then, Rantaro realises something. 

There hasn’t even been a funeral held for all those who have died. Everyone had just...continued. Lived. Moved on. Breathed. 

Rantaro leaves the lab silently before deciding to head downstairs. He doesn’t want to be alone right now. Rantaro heads towards the gym, knowing that Kirumi should be inside. 

Kirumi. Rantaro decides that he likes her. 

He enters the gym and it’s empty. There is however, a large puddle of water on the floor and this gives Rantaro the idea to check Himiko’s lab. He turns back around and heads towards the magician’s lab. 

_Thump ___

____

____

Rantaro stops just outside of Himiko’s lab. Did something fall over inside? Rantaro opens the door and for a moment, he wishes that he hadn’t.

“Tojo?”

Something hits him in the back of the head and Rantaro falls the floor. 

\---

Despite Maki’s wishes, Kaito heads outside after staying in his bed for an hour. He’s too restless to be sitting around doing nothing and would rather do something and feel useful than sit in his bed and feel helpless. 

He heads out of the dorms and creeps past all of the doors until he’s outside and allows himself to take a deep breath. Kaito looks around and finds that there’s no one outside, which he finds rather strange because he thought that maybe, just maybe, at least he’d spot one person. 

Kaito decides that he’ll try and encourage Kaede out of the tunnels one more time. As much as Kaito wants to leave this place, he knows that what she’s doing isn’t healthy. 

Since he’s an astronaut, he knows that you need to pace yourself when training. If you keep forcing your body to do something that it’s unable to do-

Kaito coughs. Maybe he should think more positively. Like, now that everyone is no longer stuck inside the tunnels, they can all train outside again. Yes, that’s a much more pleasant thing to think about. Especially training under all those stars.

He can’t wait to leave this place with everyone. One day he’s going to go so space and everyone will be cheering him on as he enters a spaceship and flies all the way up towards it. Kaito has never been the sort of person to be satisfied with just the earth. Sure, it’s cool and all but there’s so much that hasn’t been explored yet. Space is so vast and so much bigger. It offers so much more than earth can.

Space can offer so much more than this stupid academy can. 

Maybe he can convince Kaede to come to space with him? Can pianos fit inside of a spaceship? Perhaps she’ll just have to settle with a keyboard instead. Oh, and Maki can come too. She had a turn with his talent so-

Kaito looks down at the hat that lies innocently on the path. Shuichi’s hat? What’s it doing out here? He crouches down and picks it up, dusting it off. 

Why would Shuichi leave his hat out here?

Kaito pauses before pushing open the door to the tunnels. He doesn’t spot anyone and he thinks that’s sort of strange because he was sure that Kiyo was supposed to be guarding the tunnels. Where did he go?

“Saihara?” Kaito calls. “Akamatsu? You still down there?”

He tucks the hat into his pocket as he climbs down the steps for the tunnels, descending into darkness. When he sniffs the air, his stomach flips. Wait a minute. 

Kaito reaches the bottom of the ladders and freezes when he looks over at the entrance of the tunnel. 

Blood. A small pool of blood that is still trickling down the steps. A rope that has been carelessly left by the tunnel entrance. The rich smell of blood that invades the area. The heavy atmosphere of crushed hopes and distant dreams. The vague hint of sweat from an overworked body. 

A person and a body. 

Kaede Akamatsu, the Ultimate Pianist, lies on her side at the entrance of the tunnels. 

“A body has been discovered! Everyone please gather inside the underground tunnels!”

Kaito lunges forwards the moment the monitor flickers off. He crouches down next to Shuichi, who kneels a little away from the body. His posture is stiff as he stares at Kaede unblinking. 

“Bro, fuck…” Kaito shakes his shoulders. “Shuichi, you’re okay, right?” 

“What’s going on?”

Kiyo climbs down the steps first and quickly puts a hand to his mouth when he spots the body, his eyes widening at the discovery. 

“Oh my,” he says quietly. 

Kaito ignores him and continues to shake Shuichi, who doesn’t seem to be responding at all. When Kaito discreetly checks him over, he doesn’t see any visible injuries. However, when he looks at Shuichi’s eyes once more he realises that of course there’s no visible injuries. You can’t see a broken heart. 

He once again looks over at Kaede, grimacing. Her head is thrown to the side and her face is purple. A trickle of blood is leaking from the corner of her mouth and drips from down her lips onto the floor. Her eyes are still wide but they look so blank and empty. Kaito flinches as he looks down at her neck. It’s still covered in bruises from the other day but Kaito can also spot an additional mark on it that wasn’t there before. 

Kaito hears more people head down into the tunnels, all of them gasping or perhaps remaining silent as they spot the body.

Maki crouches down next to him, her eyebrows pushed together. “Are you okay, Momota?”

“I’m fine,” he lies. “Just...fine.”

Maki looks at him like she doesn’t believe him and gestures towards Shuichi. “What about him? He doesn’t look so good.”

“I think he was the first person to find the body,” Kaito explains. “He hasn’t moved ever since I came down here.”

Maki nods in understanding. “Move him away from her. It won’t do him any good just looking at her.”

“Right,” Kaito murmurs. He’s thankful that he’s strong as Shuichi decides to continue to not to move. Kaito throws one of Shuichi’s arms over his shoulder as he pulls him up and is glad when the detective takes small steps towards the ladders. Still, he’s in no shape to get up them so Kaito sits him in the corner. 

“Is Saihara okay?”

Kokichi’s voice is soft. He stands by the ladders with a blank face and his hands behind his back. For once, he doesn’t look like he’s about to cause any trouble. 

“Just leave it,” Kaito fiercely tells him. “Don’t go annoying him right now.”

“Now why would I do that?” Kokichi murmurs, taking a seat on the floor next to Shuichi. Kokichi crosses his legs at the same time Kaito sighs.

Kaito runs a hand through his hair as his eyes flicker from Kaede to Shuichi. “If you’re going to do anything useful then keep an eye on him. But I swear if you start screwing around now-”

“Momota, go and examine the body or something,” Kokichi says. “Or maybe try and figure out why not many people are here right now.”

When Kaito turns around to check out the room he sees that Kokichi is right. Maki is examining Kaede’s body whilst Kiyo stands close by. Tsumugi and Miu are stood a little away from the body. Tsumugi has her hands covering her mouth with glassy eyes. 

“Where is everyone?” Kaito asks out loud. “Did they not hear the body announcement?”

“I didn’t see anyone on my way down here,” Tsumugi says with a watery voice. “Should I go and look for them?”

“Not on your own,” Maki tells her. “The killer might still be out there. Take someone with you.”

Kiyo clears his throat. “I do not mind escorting you.”

“Ah, yes please,” Tsumugi says. 

The two of them climb up the ladders and wander around the grounds, looking for people. When they fail to find people outside, they go inside the academy to look instead. 

“Um, I wonder where Monokuma is?” Tsumugi ponders quietly, feeling uncomfortable just walking around in silence. 

“One would think that he would be here by now,” Kiyo muses. “Even if he feels threatened by his children, I would think a class trial will draw him out.”

“Maybe that isn’t the case,” Tsumugi says sadly. 

They head towards the gym, hoping that maybe there will be someone in there. They’re disappointed when it’s empty and decide to check out the labs next. Since Himiko’s lab is the closest, they decide to check in there first. 

Tsumugi covers her mouth and retches when she spots so many people on the floor. 

The room is a mess, with many pieces of Himiko’s equipment being knocked over or messed with. Tables have been knocked over, pieces of smashed glass are on the floor, a string of colourful handkerchiefs coil around into a heap and there’s three people on the floor. 

Kiyo quickly kneels by Rantaro’s side first, propping his head on his lap as his fingers go towards his neck. Kiyo feels relief when he realises that there’s a pulse. Thank goodness. 

Tsumugi hesitantly goes to Kirumi’s side and quickly checks for a pulse too. 

“She’s alive too…”

“Then that means,” Kiyo’s eyes hover over to the other body in the room.

“A body has been discovered! Everyone please gather in the Ultimate Magician’s lab!”

As the monitor turns back off, Tsumugi and Kiyo both look at each other and back at the body. 

Lying by the tank full of piranhas is Angie Yonaga, the Ultimate Artist.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Trust me, this chapter was difficult to write :,)


	15. Chapter 15

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Aw man, I didn't mean to take this long to post this chapter! I'm super sorry. I wanted to get the majority of the trial written before I posted the investigation. However, I wrote this chapter quite a while back compared to the actual trial so I might've missed out a few things that have been mentioned in this chapter or changed them around a little. However, everything mentioned in the investigation is still relevant! 
> 
> I've also started to get busier with my own life. Hopefully this doesn't mean I'll take ages to post new chapters all the time! However, if I become slower at posting then that's why. 
> 
> Thank you for reading and I hope you all enjoy!

Rantaro wakes up with a headache that rattles around in his skull. It’s enough to make him wince as he slowly opens his eyes, forcefully peeling his eyelids apart as he’s met with a dizzying bright light that makes his stomach cry. All he wants to do is close his eyes and go back to sleep but there’s a hand on his cheek and it’s very softly stroking it and Rantaro thinks that someone is talking to him. 

He can’t tell. There’s so many voices all talking at once and they’re all overlapping each other so much that Rantaro is just drowning in noise. He would try and focus on one conversation but it’s too difficult. The noise paired with his headache is already proving to be too much and he’s only just opened his eyes. 

Someone says something and then the light disappears, casting the entire room into darkness. Rantaro sighs in relief and thinks about actually trying to get up and see what’s going on. 

“I’d be slow if I were you.”

There’s a steady hand on his back as Rantaro sits up and he blinks at Korekiyo, who is kneeling on the floor beside him. Rantaro looks at him with lazy eyes and wonders why Kiyo is here and why is he on the floor with him. Then, Rantaro pauses. Why is he on the floor in the first place? He’s answered with his head letting out a distressed throb and he closes his eyes again and delicately feels the back of his head. When he looks at his fingers, he sees that they are stained pink. 

Ah. 

Even in the dark, it’s painfully obvious that there’s blood on his hands and trickling down his head. Rantaro wouldn’t be surprised if it’s matted into his hair too. When Kiyo offers him a colourful handkerchief from the floor, Rantaro takes it and wipes his hand clean, desperate to get rid of the blood. 

“W-Wait a minute! You shouldn’t tamper with the evidence too much!”

Tsumugi’s hands shake. She’s sat in the corner next to Kirumi, who looks to be in an equally dazed state. There’s a thin line of blood that’s rolling down her pale cheek and dripping onto the floor. For a moment, Rantaro can smell a heavy scent of blood but something isn’t right. Neither Kirumi or him should be bleeding enough for the scent to be that strong. It’s an overwhelming smell that makes Rantaro’s stomach do flip flops and he thinks that he should leave the room. 

Kiyo rolls his eyes to himself but lets the string of handkerchiefs fall back onto the floor slowly, falling into a messy pile. 

“What’s going on?” Rantaro asks. “What do you mean evidence?” 

“Well,” Tsumugi hesitates. She looks across the room and Rantaro follows her gaze and sees something that answers his question. 

He’s silent as he looks at Angie. She’s by the piranha tank and Rantaro can make out the pool of blood that she’s in the middle of. Her white hair is now a light pink, her yellow raincoat stained and her skin coated in blood. What’s more is that her eyes are still wide open and simply focus on nothing. 

The lab door opens and Maki quickly looks around, finally settling on Angie’s corpse. She clicks her tongue and looks between Rantaro and Kirumi. 

“What happened?” Maki asks. 

Kirumi clears her throat. “I’m sorry but I don’t quite remember much at the moment. All I remember is coming into this lab and waking up on the floor.”

Rantaro nods in agreement. “Me too.”

“And me and Shinguji found them on the floor!” Tsumugi chimes in. “A-And Angie too.”

Maki shows no interest for the fallen artist and instead crosses her arms. “Right. Well, what do we do now?”

“Whatever do you mean?” Kirumi asks. “We investigate of course.”

“I’m afraid it’s not as simple as that,” Kiyo says. “We have also found Akamatsu dead in the tunnels too.”

“Not to mention Chabashira and Yumeno are still missing,” Maki says.

“They’re missing too?!” Tsumugi cries. “But…”

“They never turned up at the tunnels and they’re not here either,” Maki tells her. “Which means that they’ve also been killed or something has happened to them.”

Tsumugi pulls herself up from the floor. “Then we should go look for them! If they’re in danger then we need to save them!”

“But we still need to investigate,” Kiyo says. “On top of that we now have two bodies to look over. We don’t even know if we need to find both of the killers or not.”

“Why shouldn’t we look for both of the killers?” Tsumugi asks. “We need to get justice for both Angie and Akamatsu?”

Maki shrugs her shoulders. “Whatever. I’m going to look for Chabashira and Yumeno.”

“But we need as many people to-” Tsumugi flinches as Maki spins around and leaves the room, “investigate.”

Kirumi turns to Tsumugi with a pale face. “Is Akamatsu really dead?”

“Indeed,” Kiyo explains. “She was found in the tunnels by presumably Saihara. I highly doubt that he’ll be a help during the investigation given his current state.”

“What’s wrong with him?” Rantaro asks.

“He’s rather upset about Akamatsu I assume,” Kiyo says. “I too am rather saddened by her death. Even after everything, I think in the end I thought Akamatsu was a...worthy person. I could’ve seen her being friends with my sister. Perhaps Angie too.”

“Ah,” Tsumugi hangs her head low. “Both of them only wanted to help the group in their own way. How did this happen? It would’ve made more sense if only one of them was dead. Not both of them.”

“What do you mean?” Kirumi tilts her head. 

Tsumugi pushes her glasses further up her nose. “Um, well they were both kind of rivals, right? Akamatsu wanted one thing and Angie wanted another. I can see one of them killing the other but having them both dead is kind of jarring.”

“Indeed. This is rather perplexing,” Kiyo agrees. 

Rantaro pulls himself up from the floor slowly. “Where are the monokubs? Shouldn’t they be explaining what’s going on?”

“Presumably,” Kiyo says. “But I haven’t seen them. There were body discovery announcements made by them but they haven’t actually shown their faces.”

“That’s because they don’t know what they’re doing!”

Monokuma proudly stands in the doorway. He smugly turns the lights back on and Rantaro flinches under the bright light, bringing an arm up to hide from the intensity of it. 

“I thought you were gone!” Tsumugi cries. “Where did you go?” 

“I took a vacation, that’s all,” Monokuma nonchalantly waves a paw around. “I knew you kids missed me! It’s a good thing I decided to come back early too! My my, a double murder! Who would’ve thought?”

“As much as I don’t want to ask this,” Kirumi frowns. “But what do we do?”

“Aha! I’m glad you asked!” Monokuma rubs his paws together and his eyes shine as he looks over at Angie. “It’s first come, first served! I can’t be letting every murderer graduate when they please! So, it’s up to you kids to find the first killer!”

“The first killer?” Rantaro echoes.

Monokuma sadly kicks at the floor. “It’s so sad! One of the victims died really for no reason since I won’t be letting their killer graduate! Still, it’ll also keep the game interesting since the second killer won’t be getting executed. The first killer will, if they’re found so you all should get a move on!”

“Don’t sound too excited,” Rantaro mutters. 

“Well! I’m off the find my kids!” Monokuma says. “I haven’t seen them for days and I don’t want their Aunt to turn up and start lecturing me about childcare and whatnot. I know how to look after my kids thank you very much!”

Monokuma leaves at the same time as everyone’s monopads let out a little jingle. Rantaro pulls his out and notices that there’s two Monokuma files. He decides that he’ll read them when his head stops hurting. Surely Monokuma will give them more time to investigate since there has been a double murder. Or not. Monokuma can be straight up evil sometimes. 

“I suppose we should split into partners,” Kiyo says. “Especially since there may be two killers on the loose now.”

“I think there’s more safety in numbers,” Tsumugi quietly says. “So maybe we should stay in a group. I don’t want to be that person but what if one of us is the killer?”

“That’s right,” Kirumi glumly says. “I hope that everyone else has taken that into consideration.”

“There should be another group checking over Akamatsu’s body,” Kiyo says. “I highly doubt that everyone in the tunnels will split up apart from Harukawa but I don’t think we need to worry about her too much.”

Tsumugi nods. “Right. So...shall we examine her body?”

“Allow me,” Kirumi says. “I have a good idea what I am doing and it’s only appropriate that a girl checks over Angie. I don’t think Chabashira will be pleased if anyone else did it.”

“But of course,” Kiyo says. “The rest of us shall look around the room to see if there’s any clues.”

Rantaro decides that he’ll look over the Monokuma file now that his headache is slowly fading into a dull throb. 

_Victim: Angie Yonaga_  
_“The time of death is unknown.” ___  
_“The victim was found in the Ultimate Magician’s Lab.”_  
_“Cause of death is unknown.”_  
_“Whilst the cause of death is unknown, the victim received multiple injuries before their death.”_  
_“The victim died seconds after sustaining their injuries.”_

____

So Angie had a quick death. Rantaro can’t help but feel relieved. Even after what Angie did, Rantaro is glad that she didn’t have to suffer too much before she died. 

“I’ve finished checking over her body.” Kirumi waves her hand, gesturing for Rantaro to come closer. 

He scoots along the floor and kneels next to Angie’s body, trying not to look at it too much as to not be disrespectful. However, now that he’s closer to it he can spot the injuries that the Monokuma File was on about. She has multiple stab wounds that cover her body but there’s something off about them. 

“It looks like she’s been stabbed at random,” Rantaro says, eyes hovering over the many stab wounds. 

Kirumi nods. “They also go through the entire body so she must’ve been stabbed with something long. An ordinary kitchen knife wouldn’t have been able to do this.”

**Obtained truth bullet! “Angie’s injuries”**

“The Monokuma File said that she died quickly,” Rantaro explains. “So I don’t think that she suffered too much before she died.”

Kirumi’s lips quirk up sadly. “I suppose that’s better than her having a drawn out death.”

The maid leans over to Angie’s face and very carefully close Angie’s eyes. The artist almost looks like she’s asleep as she’s wearing a peaceful expression. Her lips look like they’re almost smiling and when Kirumi carefully rolls Angie onto her back and places her hands onto her stomach, the artist simply looks like she’s taken a nap on the floor. Kirumi gently sorts Angie’s hair out, pulling it out of the pool of blood and instead allowing it to drop onto the yellow coat instead. 

“I know that she wanted to trap us at the academy,” Rantaro says, “but I really don’t think she deserved this. I want to find her killer even if she is the second victim.”

“Until we investigate we have no way of knowing,” Kirumi softly says. “But I agree. We won’t stop the class trial under both Akamatsu’s and Angie’s killers have been found.”

Rantaro takes a deep breath before moving away from the body. “That reminds me. Are you sure you don’t remember anything when you entered this room? Did you spot Angie?”

“Unfortunately I didn’t,” Kirumi reveals. “I had only taken a step into the room before something heavy had hit me on the back of the head. I only woke up when Shirogane had started to shake me.”

**Obtained truth bullet! “Kirumi’s testimony”**

“The same thing happened to me too,” Rantaro says. “I came into the room and I think I remember spotting you on the floor but that was it. After that, I was hit on the back of the head and yeah, woke up later on. I don’t remember seeing Angie on the floor.”

**Obtained truth bullet! “Rantaro’s testimony”**

“So that means Angie had to have been attacked after we both had been hit,” Kirumi suggests. “But I’m not sure if all of us had the same attacker.”

“That’s right,” Rantaro agrees. “Both of us were hit in the back of the head and knocked unconscious whilst Angie had been stabbed multiple times.”

“Perhaps Angie’s killer wanted only her dead,” Kirumi says. “And was planning on killing her in this room. When both of us entered the room the killer decided to knock us both unconscious so that we wouldn’t witness the murder. When Angie entered they must’ve attacked her straight away in case one of us woke up.”

Rantaro rubs his chin. “Maybe...but what if the killer was someone Angie knew? I’m not sure how alarmed Angie would’ve been seeing us both on the floor. After all, as far as Angie was concerned we were on Akamatsu’s side.”

“Maybe so,” Kirumi says. “So either the killer was someone in Angie’s group or…”

“Or?”

Kirumi frowns. “The killer must’ve had a good aim to only knock us both unconscious,” Kirumi says. “Or someone with a talent to help them and the only two people I can think of who would’ve had that talent are Akamatsu and…”

Kirumi’s eyes float over to Kiyo, who is investigating with Tsumugi in the corner of the room. Rantaro swallows. No, he doesn’t want to doubt Kiyo. The two of them are friends. Besides, wouldn’t Kiyo simply have asked both him and Kirumi to leave when they had entered the lab?

**Obtained truth bullet! “Rantaro’s and Kirumi’s injuries”**

“I’m still uncomfortable thinking that Akamatsu hurt us too,” Kirumi continues. “However, at this point we don’t have much evidence to suggest who had done it. However, I think we are both extremely lucky to be alive right now.”

Right. Rantaro winces when another shot of pain rings around his head. 

They head towards Tsumugi and Kiyo when Rantaro trips on something. He reaches out and grabs onto the table in the middle of the room to balance himself. Great, now not only does his head hurt but his foot does too. He pouts as he looks towards the floor. Rantaro’s blood runs cold. 

On the floor is a shot put ball. He kneels down and examines it closely, picking it up. Next to him, Kirumi kneels beside him as she too looks at the ball. It looks like an ordinary shot put ball apart from the specks of blood on it. It looks like it’s been wiped once but there hasn’t been much effort into actually cleaning it. 

**Obtained truth bullet! “Bloody shot put ball”**

“I’m surprised we weren’t killed after being hit with one of those things,” Kirumi shudders. “We are both extremely lucky right now.”

“You’re right,” Rantaro says, trying his best not to look at the ball. “Let's go somewhere else. I think Shirogane and Shinguji should’ve found something by now.”

Kirumi and him head over to the other two and greet them with grim smiles. 

“We think we found something!” Tsumugi says. “But, um, let’s not jump to conclusions right away.”

Tsumugi quietly opens up a wooden chest that has multiple slots on it used for swords. If Rantaro is correct, you have someone stand inside the box whilst you slot swords inside. However, the swords are arranged so that the person inside the box isn’t actually hit with the real ones. Some of the swords are fake and therefore harmless. Some of them are real. However, there is one sword inside the box that is clearly out of place.

There is a katana obviously standing out in the middle of the swords. All of them have been placed inside the box neatly, with the katana in the middle. However, due to its distinct golden handle, it’s rather easy to spot. When Rantaro reaches for the handle and pulls out the katana, it’s the only one that has bloody on the tip of it. He feels faint as he looks at the dried up blood on the bottom of it, bright pink and standing out from the rest of the swords. 

Kiyo silently shakes his head as he looks at the sword. “Who could’ve done such a thing. To ruin a historic relic like this, it’s unforgivable.”

Kirumi’s lips go thin as she is handed the katana. “Perhaps we have found Angie’s murder weapon.”

“Y-Yeah,” Tsumugi sweats, peering at the bottom of the katana. “It’s the only one that has any blood on it.”

“Actually,” Rantaro points out. “A couple of the other swords also have a couple of splatters of blood on them too.”

“Maybe those swords only got blood on them when the killer tried to hide the katana with them?” Tsumugi suggests. “None of the others have any blood on the tips of them. It’s clear that only the katana has been used.”

Kirumi points to the handle. “Someone had to have used the sword. The handle is missing some of it’s gold paint.”

Kiyo mutters under his breath, clearly displeased.

As Rantaro places the kanata against the box door, he has to think. Why did the killer leave the murder weapon in such an obvious place? 

**Obtained truth bullet! “Bloody katana”**

“Um, I’m not sure how much more investigating we can do here,” Tsumugi says. “We’ve found what seems to be the murder weapon and what hit Tojo and Amami. Now all we need to do is investigate Akamatsu’s crime scene and find out where Chabashira and Yumeno have gone. I do hope that they’re okay.”

“You seem to be forgetting something,” Kiyo says. “Take a look at the state of the room. It’s a mess. Shouldn’t we take its state into consideration?”

“Oh!” Tsumugi flushes. “Of course! It just seemed so obvious that I completely forgot to point it out!”

The lab is a mess, with many items scattered across the floor. It’s clear that something had happened in this room for it to look like this. Certainly Himiko would’ve wanted the room to look nice even when she didn’t have her talent.

**Obtained truth bullet! “Himiko’s lab”**

“Maybe we should all go and help look for Yumeno and Chabashira first?” Kirumi suggests. “As much as I would like to help investigate for Akamatsu, I am starting to become worried for them both. I really hope that we aren’t dealing with a triple murder or worse.”

“Right,” Tsumugi sadly says. “Um, we should probably start looking inside the academy because Shinguji and I didn’t see anyone when we were outside.”

As Rantaro goes to leave the room, he spots something else that seems to be out of place. His eyes narrow as he looks at the piranha tank. The fish are all still alive but there is something off about the colour of the water. Instead of it being clean, it seems dirty.

Or bloody.

**Obtained truth bullet! "Piranha tank"**

They all head upstairs together and it doesn’t actually take them long before they run back into Maki. She’s frowning and has a towel draped over her shoulders to catch the droplets of water that trickles from her hair. It looks like she has just jumped into the shower with her clothes on. 

“Don’t say a word,” Maki hisses at the group. She shoves her hand into their faces, revealing a key sitting on the palm of her hand. 

“A key?” Kiyo muses. “Whatever do you need that for?”

Maki shakes her head. “Just follow me.”

She takes them into Ryoma’s lab. Rantaro feels sad when he sees the tennis machine still continue to serve tennis balls, oblivious to the fact that its owner is gone forever. Rantaro walks past the tennis balls and follows Maki across the lab and to Ryoma’s shower room. When she opens the door, Rantaro quickly spots Tenko and Himiko trapped inside, stuck behind a barred door. 

Tenko frowns when she sees the entire group. “This is already embarrassing enough and now some nasty boys have decided to come and make fun of Tenko!”

“We had no idea you were trapped,” Kiyo easily answers. “How on earth did you both manage to get locked inside one of the shower cubicles?”

Tenko crosses her arms. “Tenko doesn’t know because Tenko was unconscious and Yumeno was too so you better not badger her for any answers or Tenko will have to use her neo-aikido to sort you males out!”

Kirumi puts a hand to her mouth. “Wait a second, our talents. We have our original talents back.”

“I already figured that out ages ago,” Maki says as she unlocks the door so Tenko and Himiko can finally leave their tiny prison. 

“Still,” Rantaro hums. “Perhaps when we retrieved our talents back will help us figure out when the murders took place.”

Tenko’s eyes go wide. “Murders?! Tenko heard the announcements but Tenko thought it was just Angie pretending to be Monokuma again. Did someone actually die?”

“Two people did actually,” Tsumugi explains. “Akamatsu and Angie.”

Both Tenko and Himiko go pale as they look at each other and then back at Tsumugi. Himiko pulls her hat over her face with clammy hands whilst Tenko blinks in a daze before sliding down the wall and into a heap on the floor. 

“A-Akamatsu and Angie?” Tenko repeats almost silently. “B-Both of them are dead?”

“I’m afraid so,” Rantaro says carefully. “We’re currently investigating right now. We’ve examined Angie’s body and where she was found.”

Himiko’s head whips up. “Did you figure out who the killer is yet? Do you know who killed Angie?”

“No,” Kirumi says. “Perhaps we’ll be able to figure out who killed her after we investigated Akamatsu’s crime scene. There wasn’t much evidence to say who did kill Angie at the moment.”

“If I may,” Kiyo cuts in. “Chabashira, you did say that you and Yumeno were knocked unconscious, correct?”

“Why do you want to know?” Tenko asks. 

“It’s just both Amami and Tojo had been knocked out too inside Yumeno’s lab,” Kiyo explains. “If the same thing that happened to the both of them happened to the two of you then perhaps we have found another clue.”

“It’s strange,” Kirumi comments. “That two members from Akamatsu’s group and two members from Angie’s group were knocked out. I thought that I was onto something with me and Amami but now that Yumeno and Chabashira are in the same boat as us, I am simply perplexed.”

Tenko shudders. “So is Tenko. Tenko can’t really remember much but someone hit her in the back of the head and when she woke up, she was inside the cell with Yumeno. Tenko woke Yumeno up but...she didn’t remember anything either.”

Himiko’s face scrunches up as she turns away. “I really don’t.”

“That’s okay,” Rantaro says softly. Himiko looks like she’s about to burst into tears any second. “We can figure out what happened during the trial.”

Tenko leaps up from the floor and pulls Himiko into a sideways hug, wrapping one arm around her shoulders. “That’s right! Tenko promises that she’ll help Yumeno figure out what happened during the trial! So, you really don’t have to worry! Whatever happens, Tenko will always fight for you, Yumeno!”

Maki clears her throat. “We have no time for emotions right now. We’re investigating.”

Tenko bristles. “Okay, okay.”

“If I may ask but why are you wet, Harukawa? Have you taken a shower?” Kiyo asks, looking Maki up and down as she continues to drip water onto the floor.

Maki scowls. “I had to jump into the pool to get the key for the lock.”

“How did you figure out the key was in the pool?” Kirumi asks.

“The window is open,” Maki says. “I guessed that whoever locked them inside the cell probably just threw the keys out of the window so that they couldn’t reach them to get out. Maybe they wanted them trapped inside the cell so that they couldn’t get to the trial.”

“But then,” Tenko goes pale. “We would’ve been killed!”

“Just be glad I found you then,” Maki says.

**Obtained truth bullet! “Tenko’s testimony”**

**Obtained truth bullet! “Talents”**

**Obtained truth bullet! “Key”**

“You didn’t actually jump out of the window to get to the key did you?” Rantaro quietly asks.

Maki turns her head to the side and wordlessly walks out of the room. 

“Oh my,” Kiyo puts a hand to his mouth as he walks out of the room. 

Rantaro walks next to Himiko as they head for the tunnels. The magician pulls on her hat when she spots him watching her and keeps a steady grip on the edge of her large hat. 

“Are you okay, Yumeno?” Rantaro asks. “My head still hurts when I was hit too.”

Himiko slowly nods. “It was with a shot put ball, right?”

“Yeah...”

Himiko lets go of her hat and runs ahead to catch up with Tenko. The magician slips her hand into Tenko, which causes the aikido master to let out a rather loud squeak and Rantaro doesn’t need to look at Tenko’s face to know that it has probably gone a rather bright shade or red. 

They reach the door for the tunnels and when they open it, spot Kokichi and Shuichi sat just a little away from the entrance of the tunnels. They are leaning against a wall together, Shuichi holding onto his hat as Kokichi talks his ear off. 

Kokichi sneers when she spots the group and Rantaro feels a little taken aback at the smaller boy’s attitude but decides that now isn’t the time to question Kokichi. If he wants to act immature then that’s fine. Rantaro has more important things that he needs to be doing right now. 

“I’ll stay up here,” Maki quickly says. “I need to change into dry clothes anyway and I don’t want Iruma to make inappropriate comments when I come back to investigate.”

“You’re really stupid if you think Miu is going to not make any comments!” Kokichi says with a grin. “She’s already going on about how there was probably some kinky stuff going on in the tunnels, you know since there’s a rope down there and all.”

Kiyo sighs. “Why were you of all people left with Saihara? Where’s Momota?”

“Investigating, duh!” Kokichi answers. 

“Perhaps someone else should stay up here too,” Kirumi frets. 

Maki nods. “That’s probably for the best. That way I can change out of my clothes and someone keeps an eye on the annoying brat.”

“Aw, what did Saihara ever do to you?” Kokichi flutters his eyelids. 

Rolling her eyes, Maki walks out of the room, continuing to drip water onto the floor as she heads towards the dormitories. 

“If you need anything just shout,” Rantaro says to Kirumi as he starts to climb down the tunnels, gripping onto the ladder rungs tightly when he starts to feel light headed. “And if Ouma starts to wind you up too much I’ll make sure to send Momota up.”

“Oh no, not Momota!” Kokichi gasps. “I definitely don’t want to be punished by him! Aw man, if you insist. Just make sure to ask him to bring the rope up with him because Miu isn’t the only one who-”

“Can we please go and investigate?!” Tsumugi squeaks, her face turning a rather glowing shade of pink. 

“Tenko agrees!” Tenko declares as slams her hands over Himiko’s ears. “Tenko thinks that one male in particular is being really disgusting and Tenko will not hesitate to kick him out of the room!”

Kokichi’s laughs can be heard as Rantaro climbs down the tunnels, sighing to himself when he reaches the bottom. He’s not glad to be back here again. 

The smell of blood is a lot more overwhelming down in the tunnels then it had been in Himiko’s lab. Rantaro thinks it is probably because there’s visually a lot more blood to be seen. It trickles down the steps to the tunnels like a waterfall and isn’t actually that noticeable until you get close enough to spot it.

Kaito has probably moved Kaede’s body at some point as she’s no longer on top of the puddle of blood but instead just a little away from the bottom of the steps and is covered with Kaito’s jacket. 

“Amami!” Despite the situation, Kaito still looks pleased to see Rantaro. “Why didn’t you come down when the body announcement went off? Loads of people didn’t turn up.”

“Let me explain,” Kiyo says. “It seems that someone has been knocking people out. Both Tojo and Amami were found on the floor in Yumeno’s lab whilst Chabashira and Yumeno were found locked in Ryoma’s lab. As for Angie, well, I hate to be blunt but she’s dead.”

“Angie too?” Kaito’s eyes go wide. “Fuck. Really?”

“The Monokuma File confirms it,” Rantaro explains. 

Kaito pulls out his monopad and grits his teeth when he spots that there has been two files added to the monopad instead of just one. 

“Angie’s dead too?” Miu trembles. “So not only is Bakamatsu dead but also the fucking bobblehead? Man, and I thought space dick and I had figured out who the killer was.”

Tsumugi tilts her head. “You both thought Angie was the killer?”

“Well who else would’ve wanted Kaede dead!” Kaito throws his hands up. “Now I just feel shitty because now she’s fucking dead. Has anyone got a good idea on who killed Angie?”

“We were hoping to find some clarity down here,” Kiyo admits. “Angie’s murder scene was rather lacking but from the looks of things here, perhaps we’re not going to be as lucky as we think we are.”

“Um, not to be rude but why did you move Akamatsu’s body?” Tsumugi asks. “I know you probably did it out of respect but that’s kind of tampering with evidence.”

“I didn’t want Shuichi to keep looking at her,” Kaito huffs, “he’s sad enough as it is. But man, I know he’s grieving and shit but I hope he snaps out of it soon because we’re going to need him real bad for this trial. Two fucking murders…”

Tenko narrows her eyes. “You didn’t peek when you moved her body did you?”

Kaito looks horrified, sweat pouring from his face. “Who the hell do you think I am?!”

Miu cackles in the corner. “Well, did you?”

“This is not appropriate!” Tsumugi firmly says. “We need to investigate!”

That’s right. Rantaro pulls out his monopad to read over Kaede’s file.

_Victim: Kaede Akamatsu_  
_“The time of death is unknown.”_  
_“The victim was found inside the underground tunnels.”_  
_“Cause of death is unknown.”_

“Is that it?” Rantaro blinks down at the glowing screen. “Both Gonta and Angie had a lot more information regarding their murders.”

“Perhaps Monokuma is hiding something?” Tsumugi suggets. “But even so, the file isn’t actually telling us anything new.”

Tenko spins around so fast that her hair whips the wall loudly. “Momota! You examined Akamatsu’s body, correct? Did you find anything useful?”

“I mean,” Kaito shrugs helplessly. “I didn’t really have much time to look at it properly since I was trying to comfort Shuichi and shit. I think I saw some sort of burn on her neck so maybe she was strangled? I don’t know!”

“Maybe we need to examine her again,” Himiko suggests quietly. “But I don’t know how.”

“L-Leave it to me, Yumeno!” Tenko says, already kneeling besides the body. 

She peels away the coat from Kaede and carefully places it next to her. Kaede’s body is pale and still. Kaito had not closed her eyes and they are still looking up at the ceiling, although they’re unusually wide. Her neck is still covered in bruises but as Kaito said, there is another mark around the neck that had not been there the last couple of days. There’s a small trickle of blood coming from down her mouth. Her face is a light purple. 

However, what is most surprising is the stab wound on Kaede’s stomach. It’s large and it tears through her vest and when Tenko respectfully tilts Kaede’s body to the side, the wound can be seen on Kaede’s back too. 

Tenko closes her eyes as she once again covers Kaede’s body with Kaito’s jacket.

**Obtained truth bullet! “Mark on Kaede’s neck”**

**Obtained truth bullet! “Kaede’s stab wound”**

“Tenko doesn’t understand,” Tenko says bitterly. “How could someone be so cruel and hurt Akamatsu so much? Tenko doesn’t know how Akamatsu died but it must’ve been so horrible!”

Himiko kneels next to her as Tenko begins to sob. “Maybe we should go look somewhere else for now.”

Rantaro grits his teeth as he turns away, unable to look at Kaede anymore. How much did she suffer before she had died? Why was she killed in such a way?

“Yeah, I felt pretty sick when I examined her body too,” Kaito admits, slapping a hand on Rantaro’s shoulder. “I’m pretty sure that Shuichi wouldn’t have been able to do it though and Iruma is being pretty useless right now.”

“Has Ouma tried to help?” Rantaro asks. 

Kaito snorts. “That shitty gremlin? I mean, he has been keeping Shuichi company but Maki had been watching him the entire time. It was actually pretty intense. Still, I’m pretty sure she didn’t want him to cause anymore trouble. Actually, where is Maki anyway?”

“She’s, ah, changing her clothes,” Rantaro says.

Kaito blinks. “Why?”

“I know!” Tsumugi buts in. “She jumped out of Hoshi’s lab window to get the pool so she could get the key to free Yumeno and Chabashira!”

“She jumped out of the window?” Kaito’s jaw drops as he takes a step backwards. He sighs loudly. “Honestly, what am I going to do with her?”

“You can talk to her later,” Rantaro reassures him. “But right now we still need to investigate. Have you found anything else that might be useful for the class trial?”

“Oh!” Kaito pulls something from his pocket. “Yeah! I found this rope in the corner of the room. Do you want to take a look?”

Rantaro gratefully takes the rope from Kaito’s hands and looks it over. It’s fairly long and rather sturdy. When Rantaro stretches it, it makes a satisfying tugging noise. Still, he really has no idea what he’s supposed to be looking for. He’s not really that interested in ropes. Maybe someone else might have a good idea what to look for?

“If I may?” Kiyo slides next to Rantaro in an instant, as if being summoned by the rope itself. “I have a lot of experience with ropes you see. They are rather fascinating actually. Yes, perhaps I can show you one day all the things that you can do with rope.”

“He means he wants to fuck you!” Miu calls from near the ladders. 

Rantaro sighs as Kiyo starts to examine the rope. He holds it close to his face as he looks at it closely, narrowing his eyes. However, when he pulls the rope away, Kiyo is frowning and hands the rope back to Rantaro with a displeased look. 

“It seems that this rope hasn’t been used at all,” Kiyo says. 

“It hasn’t?” Kaito blinks. “Then what’s it doing down here?”

Kiyo shrugs. “Who knows? Perhaps to confuse us. I must say I could be wrong however. It’s just that the rope isn’t actually worn in any way. It’s in almost perfect condition.”

“Almost?”

“Yes, well,” Kiyo turns the rope over ever so slightly. “There’s actually blood on it, you see. As well as that it seems to have been cut into two pieces. However, we don’t seem to have the second piece.”

Kaito snatches the rope from Kiyo and holds it up to the light that comes from the manhole. “Where?! I can’t see it!”

“That’s because it’s rather unnoticeable,” Kiyo informs him. “Rather, it’s almost as if it’s not there. Even I almost didn’t notice it.”

“Hmm,” Rantaro rubs his chin. 

**Obtained truth bullet! “Cut rope”**

**Obtained truth bullet! “Blood on rope”**

“Still, it is a rather ugly looking rope,” Kiyo points out. “I much prefer rope that is red. I think that you would too, Amami.”

Rantaro ignores Miu’s laughter and desperately looks for something else to investigate. It’s rather difficult to actually find anything from outside the tunnels. Rantaro looks around but really can’t find anything. He decides that he’ll look inside the tunnels themselves instead. There has to be a clue inside there.

He enters the tunnels and looks around. He jumps over the bombs that come towards him but pauses when he spots something pink on the floor. Blood. In fact, it goes on for quite a while until it stops directly below a cage. Rantaro allows the cage to capture him and inside the cage is a lot more blood. He frowns as he’s sent back to the entrance of the tunnels. 

**Obtained truth bullet! “Blood in tunnels”**

“Did you find anything?” Tsumugi asks him when he stumbles out. 

“Yes, blood,” Rantaro responds. “There was a trail of it that stopped at a cage.”

“Why would there be a trail inside the tunnels?” Kaito ponders out loud.

He becomes distracted when Maki starts to climb down the ladder. She’s in a dry uniform although her hair is still damp. However, it’s clear that she’s tried to dry it as it no longer drips with water. 

“How is the investigating going?” Maki asks, pulling her skirt firmly around her legs when she reaches the bottom of the ladder. 

“We can’t find anything!” Kaito whines. “I’ve looked everywhere and there really isn’t much to find!”

“What about alibis?” Maki suggests. “Don’t tell me you haven’t been collecting them?”

Kaito laughs awkwardly as he rubs the back of his head. “Don’t we usually save them for the trial? I mean, loads of people were unconscious anyway.”

“Still, some people weren’t where they were supposed to be,” Maki points out, sending Kiyo a pointed look. “Fine. How about we discuss about who found the bodies? There’s something I need to confirm.”

“There is?” Kaito asks.

Maki ignores him and turns to Tsumugi. “Only you and Shinguji when to check for everyone else, correct?”

“T-That’s right!” Tsumugi replies, feeling a little more than intimidated.

“And the both of you found Angie together?”

“Yes?”

“There was no one else in the room with you besides Tojo and Amami?”

“Maki,” Kaito raises an eyebrow. “Where are you going with this?”

“If the body discovery went off when only Shirogane and Shinguji entered the room then something isn’t right. It’s only supposed to go off when three people have seen the body. It’s like what happened with Gonta, the announcement only played when Tojo and gotten Amami to see the body too,” Maki explains. “So that means it has to be three people besides the killer who have to see the body before the announcement plays.”

“Really?” Tenko’s eyes go wide. “Tenko didn’t know that!”

“You probably didn’t read the rules properly,” Maki says dismissively. “But this means at least one other people had seen Angie before the announcement went off.”

“Do you think so?” Rantaro asks. 

“W-Wait a minute,” Kaito’s skin goes clammy. “Only Saihara and I were down in the tunnels when the announcement went off too.”

The small group falls into silence.

“Holy shit,” Miu says. “Just how many people are into looking at dead bodies!?”

“A-Are you sure, Momota?” Tsumugi asks with wide eyes. “Because if that’s the case then why didn’t anyone alert everyone about the bodies? If someone who hadn’t killed Akamatsu and Angie saw the bodies then shouldn’t they have told someone?”

“You would think so,” Tenko points out, pressing her fingers together. “Tenko is...really confused.”

“So that means someone had been in the tunnels even before Saihara and Momota were down here,” Maki says. “And someone had seen Angie’s body before Shinguji and Shirogane got to the lab. Amami, are you sure didn’t spot Angie?”

“I-I’m certain,” Rantaro says. “I only saw Tojo.”

“Then maybe it was Tojo who saw Angie?” Himiko suggests. “Maybe she woke up for a second and spotted her.”

“That is a possibility,” Kiyo says. “Perhaps she saw Angie whilst drifting out of consciousness and simply forgot?”

Maki shrugged. “I’ll have to go and ask her. You should all keep investigating whilst I ask around upstairs. I doubt Monokuma is going to give us much longer before he starts the class trial.”

“R-Right,” Tenko says as she watches Maki climb back up the steps. 

**Obtained truth bullet! “First body witness”**

“I’m still so confused,” Kaito admits, running a hand through his already messy hair. “From what I’ve gathered, two people from each group had been knocked out and the leaders murdered. What the hell happened?”

“The truth will come out eventually,” Kiyo says. 

“Well, I still want to know why you weren’t at the tunnels when you were supposed to be,” Kaito says sourly. “Weren’t you supposed to be guarding them?”

“Yes I was,” Kiyo admits. “But I had gone for a small break, that’s all. I never would’ve thought that Akamatsu was to be killed whilst I was away.”

“Oh, that’s right!” Tsumugi’s eyes light up. “You came to the dining hall for a cup of tea! I was in the middle of making it when I ended up dropping it and I got it all over you! I’m so sorry!”

“It’s fine,” Kiyo says. “No one was harmed.”

“But Shirogane, you were the Ultimate Maid,” Himiko says. “Why did you spill tea everywhere?”

Tsumugi blinks and clasps her hands together. “Huh. I plainly don’t know.”

**Obtained truth bullet! “Kiyo’s testimony”**

“Even so,” Kaito says bitterly. He hesitates before letting out a heavy sigh. “Nah, forget it.”

With nothing else to examine, they are all forced to leave the tunnel to try and investigate elsewhere. However, no one can think of another place to investigate. The only two places that were suspicious enough to look at were the crime scenes themselves and they offered little to no help at all. 

Above the tunnels, Shuichi continues to hold onto his hat, blinking at it slowly. He doesn’t have too tight of a grip on it but he holds it as if his life depends on it. 

Kirumi sympathetically smiles. “Momota, did you give him that to make him feel better?”

“Huh? Yeah, of course. It’s his hat anyway,” Kaito says. “I found it outside and figured that he’d probably want it back.”

Maki’s back straightened. “Did you just say that you found it outside?”

“Well, yeah.”

“Momota, you idiot!” Kokichi says. “Did you not even stop to think why Saihara’s hat was outside?”

“I was too busy thinking about space!” Kaito weakly defends himself. “And I saw it just outside here so I picked it up! I didn’t know I was about find Kaede’s body!”

“You were thinking about space?” Tenko ponders out loud.

**Obtained truth bullet! “Shuichi’s hat”**

“We haven’t really found that much evidence,” Kirumi frets. “And we’ll have to be looking out for potentially two murderers. I’m starting to get extremely worried.”

“Don’t worry! We’ll have our super duper detective helping us, right, Saihara-chan?” Kokichi beams at the detective.

“Chan?” Himiko repeats under her breath. 

Shuichi is either ignoring Kokichi or simply didn’t hear him. He doesn’t respond and opts to instead fidget with his hat.

“Hey! Saihara!” Kokichi whines, waving his hand rapidly in front of Shuichi’s face. “I said are you going to get justice for your dead girlfriend?!”

“Ouma!” Tenko gasps. “You nasty male!”

“Uh oh!” Kokichi darts from the room as Tenko begins to chase him outside, yelling loudly after him. 

“That was a tad insensitive,” Kiyo says lowly. 

“Still,” Maki says, “he’ll be no use for us if he spends the trial not saying anything. Either he sorts himself out now or we risk end up failing the trial. I actually want to live, you know.”

“Come on bro!” Kaito pumps his fist. “You need to do this trial for Kaede!”

“And Angie,” Tsumugi reminds him. “She died too.”

“Who the fuck cares?” Miu asks. “She was creepy! She probably would’ve sacrificed us all if it meant that she got to live!”

“Says the person who was in her council,” Kiyo raises an eyebrow as Miu sweats heavily.

“Still,” Rantaro says. “Both of them didn’t deserve this. Now that they’re both gone the only thing we can do for them is to find out who killed them and make sure that they don’t get away with it. Sure, Akamatsu and Angie didn’t get along during the last couple of days but I think deep down they both wanted the same thing. They wanted to keep everyone safe even if one of them wanted to leave whilst the other one wanted to stay. So, we at least owe it to them to have a class trial for them and make sure we live.”

“Well said,” Kirumi smiles. “Amami is right. We need to find out who did this to them and bring them to justice.”

“That’s right,” Shuichi agrees quietly. “We need to find the killer…”

Kaito’s eyes light up. “So come on bro! Let’s head to the trial grounds so we can make sure that Kaede didn’t die in vain! I’m sure she believes in you wherever she is right now!”

The two wordlessly head to the trial grounds together with Maki following after them. 

Himiko tugs on Tenko’s sleeve. “Come on, I don’t want Monokuma to yell at us.”

“Indeed, we should proceed to the trial grounds soon,” Kiyo says. 

Rantaro, Kirumi and Kiyo huddle into a group of three as they head towards the trial grounds together. They all carry heavy weights on their shoulders. Not only do they have two victims but they also must find out who died first and expose the correct person. It’s going to be a tricky trial.

But, Rantaro swears he will find out who killed Angie and Kaede. He’ll solve all the mysteries that this case has and expose the guilty. He has to. Angie and Kaede wanted everyone to live and leave. 

So, Rantaro will live. He’ll fight so that the group can all live.

They will live and they will leave the academy.


	16. Chapter 16

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hooray! A quick update! 
> 
> I'll most likely be posting the next chapter tomorrow. However, the final chapter for this trial may take a little longer depending on whether or not I decide to post it without writing the next chapter after it. We'll just have to wait and see!
> 
> Thank you for reading and I hope you all enjoy!

The trial room still has the same sickening atmosphere as the students all head towards their assigned podiums. Kaede’s portrait has a picture of her with an X covering her face, the X having been decorated with piano keys. Angie’s picture makes her look like an angel as she has a pair of bloody wings on both sides of her. Even Ryoma now has a picture replacing his podium. He has a pair of tennis rackets covering his face in the shape of an X. 

Rantaro counts the five portraits and lowers his head in shame. Kiibo, Gonta, Ryoma, Kaede and Angie. That’s five people who won’t be leaving the academy and if they succeed the trial, the number will go up to six. The decline in numbers is dizzying. They woke up here as a group of sixteen and soon there will only be ten of them left. 

Monokuma sits on his wooden throne rather comfortably, sipping on a bubbly drink from a champagne flute. He smiles and waves as if he’s royalty as the students look over at him. At his feet are the three remaining monokubs, who look a lot more pale than usual. 

“I’m so glad that you could all make it!” Monokuma cooes. “A class trial might is the best form of entertainment around here you know? In fact, I love them so much that I always pay extra just to have the best seat in the house! It’s a shame that I have to bring my kids along with me though.”

Monotaro rubs his eyes as they leak tears. “We’re sorry father! We never meant to fail you! It’s all Monodam’s fault! He couldn’t get everyone to get along and now two people are dead instead of one!”

“I-It does mean that there should be one less execution though,” Monophanie thoughtfully points out.

Monokuma drains his drink before throwing the champagne flute away. “The executions are the best part! I didn’t become a headteacher just to see my students flourish! I came for the punishments!”

Monodam blinks uneasily and holds his paws together. 

“The monokubs uprising has come to an end!” Monokuma declares dramatically. “Well, there wasn’t much of an uprising anyway. Did you kids even do anything for the last couple of days? I tried to let you all have your rebellious phase so you can become perfect bears but I guess you’ll all never be like me. Which is a shame, of course. I hope this doesn’t make any of you less popular.”

“Daddy,” Monophanie whimpers, tears gathering in the corner of her eyes. 

With a sigh, Monokuma rubs his paws together. “Well then, all we can do now is get on with the trial! I presume you all remember how they go?”

“Yeah yeah,” Kaito grumbles, scratching the side of his head. 

“W-Wait a second!” Tsumugi cries, clasping her hands together. “We just need to find one killer, right? But, how do we know if we found the right one? The Monokuma Files don’t give us the time of deaths!”

“Puhuhuhu, excellent observation!” Monokuma excitedly says. “To put it simply, I want an interesting class trial. Now, if I simply told you when they both died then it would be rather boring. The last couple of days haven’t really been exciting, have they? So, to make up for it we will have a super duper fun class trial instead! Isn’t this so exciting? Your headteacher is so thoughtful!”

“I know, right?” Kokichi sniffles. “I can’t wait for something exciting to happen! I hate boring people.”

“Ouma!” Tenko growls. “Now isn’t the time to be messing around! Two girls have just died! We need to avenge Akamatsu and Angie! So, cough it up you degenerates! Which male did it?”

Kiyo shakes his head. “A girl could’ve been capable of killing someone too, you know. Maybe we should slow down before we point fingers at the wrong people.”

“That’s right,” Kirumi agrees. “We have two murders to deal with this time. This trial won’t be as easy. If we get the order of the murders wrong then we’ll all get punished. Now, we should start off by discussing-”

“Where were you when Akamatsu died?”

Shuichi looks over at Maki with desperate eyes. He has his hat back on but he has it tilted back so he’s able to at least look at the assassin. His stare is shocking and even a little intimidating. Perhaps even scary. 

“Oh?” Kokichi’s lips turn up mischievously. 

“What the hell are you doing!?” Kaito cries in alarm. “You don’t think that Maki did it, right?”

Maki’s eyebrows press together. “I didn’t do it. I was in my room for most of the day. I may not have a solid alibi but I’m sure not many people here do either.”

“Maybe we should slow down a little,” Rantaro suggests, his hands hovering in the air. “First, we should gather everyone’s alibis and try and figure out who saw both Angie and Akamatsu last. Then we can start discussing contradictions.”

Shuichi pauses before tugging on his hat. He doesn’t look happy but at least doesn’t say anything else. 

“So!” Kokichi claps his hands together. “Who wants to start?”

“I would like to get something out of the way myself actually,” Kiyo admits. “During Akamatsu’s murder, I should’ve been on guard at the tunnels. However, I decided to take a break and spent my time until the body discovery announcement inside the dining hall. Shirogane can confirm this as she was with me serving tea for most of the time.”

Tsumugi flushes. “That’s right! I was with him for most of the time but I did have to leave only once to go to the bathroom. After that, I went straight back to the dining room. Shinguji and I sat together for a little while longer until the announcement went off!”

“So you both have an alibi for Akamatsu’s murder,” Kirumi says. 

“What about Angie’s murder?” Tenko asks. 

Kiyo shakes his head. “I wouldn’t know. Until we found out who died first, all I can say is that I’m not responsible for Akamatsu’s death.”

“But you did leave her on her own,” Shuichi suddenly argues. “You knew she was down in the tunnels. Why did you leave her when you should’ve been guarding her?”

“She had Harukawa’s talent, correct? I had only intended to have a ten minute break since my legs were aching but I was having such an interesting conversation with Shirogane that I simply lost track of time,” Kiyo responds cooly. “I thought that Akamatsu would’ve been capable of defending herself if anyone suspicious had gone down into the tunnels.”

“You still shouldn’t have left her on her own,” Shuichi quietly says. 

Kiyo closes his eyes. “And I do regret it, Saihara. If I had known that she were to be killed whilst I was gone then I…”

“You shouldn’t blame yourself too much,” Kirumi kindly says. “You had no idea that something like this would happen.”

“Moving on!” Kokichi announces loudly. “I was inside my lab the entire time!”

“Ouma, you don’t have a lab,” Himiko says with a frown. 

“Uh, yes I do,” Kokichi sneers. “I was the Ultimate Inventor! So, Miu ever so kindly said I could have her lab! Isn’t she so nice?”

“I never said that, shrimp dick!” Miu bristles. “You fucking walk in like you own the place and started to use all of my shit! Trust a virgin like you to do whatever the hell you want.”

“But Miu!” Kokichi pouts. “I was gonna give you an alibi and say you were with me all the time! I guess I won’t anymore.”

“W-Wait! But I was!” Miu shouts. “I-I thought my lab would be the safest place to be and after Angie let the library nerd mastermind join her council I thought that…”

“Didn’t you want to stay around people in Akamatsu’s group?” Maki asks. “You asked us if you could be with us.”

“I did but,” Miu sweats, “you all left me! I didn’t know where you all fucked off to but I hope you’re all happy! I could’ve been killed and the world would’ve been stripped from the only brain cell it has!”

“What’s that supposed to mean,” Himiko murmurs. 

“Hah! Trust someone like you to not understand!” Miu laughs. “Your brain is as big as your chest and if you take a look at these bad boys,” Miu hugs herself, “then maybe you’ll understand why I’m such a genius!”

“So,” Tenko says slowly, “you spent the day inside your lab?”

“My lab,” Kokichi quickly corrects.

Miu huffs. “So you all finally figured it out. Yes, I was in my lab! No one was gonna protect me and I’m not about to sit around after leaving Angie’s group. She would’ve killed me if she saw me!”

“Killed you?” Kaito sweats. “Are you sure?”

“Angie was fucking insane!” Miu declares. “She decided that she was going to just trap people in the tunnel if the didn’t leave.”

“Seriously?!” Kaito’s eyes bulge. 

“Then why weren’t we informed?” Kirumi asks. “Shirogane, I thought that you were supposed to be telling us important information.”

Tsumugi sweats. “I didn’t know that Angie was going to trap people in the tunnel! She never mentioned that to me at all!” 

“Me neither,” Himiko admits. “She didn’t really tell me much. She said I was welcome to nap as much as I like, which I thought was pretty nice of her.”

“So Tenko had to look after Yumeno so no nasty males would take advantage of her,” Tenko adds. “Tenko spent most of her time with Yumeno during the last couple of days and especially today!”

Kokichi hums. “I totally wasn’t told about Angie’s plans either. So, how did you find out Miu?”

“M-Moi?” Miu stutters. “W-Well, it wasn’t directly from Angie herself but-”

“Maybe you’re lying because you killed Akamatsu!” Kokichi suggests proudly. “Poor Angie, now that she’s dead you decided to use her as a scapegoat to get away with murder! She’s not here to defend herself so you decided to take this as an opportunity to trick everyone into thinking that she killed Akamatsu!”

“Hold on a second!” Miu cries. “That’s wrong!”

“Before we start pointing fingers, we should really get everyone’s alibis first,” Rantaro says with a sigh. He rubs his forehead. “I went into my room for a shower before spending most of the day inside Gonta’s lab. There wasn’t anyone inside so I can’t have someone confirm my alibi. However, I decided afterwards to go to the gym to find someone to hang out with. Since it was empty I decided to go to Yumeno’s lab-”

“Why Yumeno’s lab?” Tenko quickly asks with narrowed eyes. 

“Well, he was the Ultimate Magician,” Kiyo points out. 

Rantaro shakes his head. “Even though I was the Ultimate Magician, I had gone to the lab because I saw water in the gym and thought that someone would be inside the lab since all of Yumeno’s equipment had been cleaned up.”

“I see,” Kirumi says. “So you saw the water inside the gym and presumed that there would still be people inside Yumeno’s lab.”

“That’s what he just said!” Miu huffs. 

Ignoring Miu, Rantaro continues. “When I got to the lab, I saw Tojo on the floor and that’s the last thing I saw before I was knocked out.”

“Hmm, suspicious,” Kokichi rubs his chin. “You claim that you were knocked out but you could’ve very easily just said that and instead hid inside the lab until Angie arrived! Then, when she wasn’t suspecting it, you summoned your Akamatsu strength and you hit her over the head with a shot put ball and bam! After that, you laid on the floor and pretended to have been hit!”

Rantaro feels a headache start to grow. “No, that’s not what happened.”

“I agree,” Kiyo says. “Amami was most certainly out cold when Shirogane and I found him. It took me a while to actually manage to awake him.”

“Well, I tried,” Kokichi shrugs. “Guess we’ll never find out now.”

“We still haven’t finished the alibis yet!” Kaito retorts. “I was inside my room for most of the day because Maki said I needed to rest or some shit. I got bored after a while and went to check up on Kaede and, uh, yeah.” Kaito awkwardly clears his throat. “I found Shuichi down there and then the body announcement went off.”

“Saihara was down there on his own with Akamatsu?” Tsumugi asks. “Um, I don’t want to presume anything but isn’t that a little suspicious?”

Kaito tilts his head. “Huh? What do you mean?”

“She probably means that either Bakamatsu and Shyhara were either fucking in the tunnels or that he killed her,” Miu says, putting her hands on her hips. “So, which was it? Or was it both? W-Wait a minute, what the hell are you into?!”

Shuichi opens and closes his mouth, turning white.

“Are you saying that he killed Kaede?!” Kaito asks, punching his fists together. “Because that’s totally wrong!” 

“Well, you better find a way to prove it,” Kokichi smiles. “And quick, I don’t think we could get through this trial without our trustworthy detective.”

Rantaro casts his eyes over to Shuichi. He is grasping the edge of his podium with a strong grip and white knuckles. He’s visibly upset about the accusation, which Rantaro understands. Now, he just needs to get Shuichi out of this mess before things start to get out of hand. 

_Nonstop Debate_

“Saihara was found in the tunnels on his own,” Tsumugi says. “And I’m sorry to say but that is plainly suspicious!”

“He joined Angie’s council too,” Tenko points out. “Maybe he just pretended to like Akamatsu all this time so he could kill her later on! Then, no one would suspect him because everyone thought they were friends!”

“Hold on a second!” Kaito sweats. “Kaede and Shuichi cared about each other!”

“That’s right,” Kirumi says. “If I remember correctly, he only joined Angie’s council because he was worried about Akamatsu pushing herself too much. It simply wouldn’t make sense if he killed her.”

“He still could’ve taken advantage over the fact that she was tired,” Himiko suggests. “Akamatsu trusted him so she wouldn’t have been suspicious when Saihara entered the tunnels.”

“Are we all forgetting that Akamatsu was the Ultimate Assassin?” Kiyo states. 

“Oh, you’re getting a little ahead of yourself there, Shinguji!” Kokichi smirks. 

“Ouma, shut up. You’re all forgetting something really important. It’s something about the body discovery,” Maki says.

_Consent!_

“I’ve actually been thinking about that too, Harukawa,” Rantaro admits. “Isn’t it a little strange how the body discovery went off as soon as Momota saw the body?”

“Huh? What do you mean?” Kaito asks. 

Kokichi starts to laugh. “Man, now that Momota isn’t a detective anymore he’s become really stupid! I’m really gonna miss smart Momota too.”

“Shut up!”

“I think I get it,” Tsumugi says, holding up a finger. “Clearly, Saihara had already seen the body so he would’ve been one person to see the body. Then, Momota saw the body and that made it two. However, the rules clearly state that the body discovery will only go off when three or more students have seen the body!”

“Right,” Maki says. “And during the last trial we figured out that doesn’t include the killer. Both Tojo and I had found Gonta’s body but we needed a third person to see the body for the alarm to go off.”

“So does that mean that Saihara isn’t Akamatsu’s killer?” Kiyo asks.

“It’s likely,” Maki says. “What we don’t know is how many people had been down the tunnels before Saihara had gotten there. We know that there was at least one other person besides the killer who was down there since the alarm shouldn’t had played when Momota had saw the body.”

“Well in that case, does that mean Shinguji and I can be ruled out for killing Angie?” Tsumugi asks. “We both saw the body together and the discovery played! Both Tojo and Amami were unconscious so it’s unlikely that either of them saw Angie whilst they were inside the room.”

“That is correct,” Kirumi says. “I was on my own inside the lab when I was attacked. Angie was nowhere in sight.”

“Which is why we need to find out when everyone saw Angie and Akamatsu alive last!” Kokichi stresses. “Geez, we’ve gone completely off topic!”

“But we now know that Shuichi didn’t kill Kaede!” Kaito happily states. “And me too! Thanks for helping us out, Maki!”

Maki scoffs. “Whatever, someone else would’ve realised it sooner or later.”

Shuichi’s eyes flicker over to her as his expression turns sour. Still, he remains silent but at least has a little colour back to his face. 

“So!” Kokichi claps his hands loudly. “Let’s start off with Angie since she’s the one we really care about here.”

“W-Wait a second,” Kaito splutters. 

“Ouma, now isn’t the time to be messing around,” Kirumi says sternly. “We want justice for both Akamatsu and Angie. Do not be disrespectful.”

“Whatever,” Kokichi rolls his eyes. “You’re all so sensitive. Anyway! I last saw Angie when I left after eating breakfast! She was super angry because Amami and Harukawa upset her and so I stayed inside my lab the entire time!”

“S-Same here,” Miu says. “The last place I knew Angie had been alive was at breakfast. After that I joined Akamatsu’s group of boy toys and then went to my lab!”

“That’s the same with Tenko!” Tenko announces. “Tenko was kind of worried that Angie would be mad with her because of the failed Monokuma statue.”

Kiyo shakes his head. “That was a poor attempt. Why on earth did you try and trick us with that?”

“T-Tenko wanted it to work!” Tenko sweats. “Tenko was just as surprised as everyone else when she saw the statue! Tenko is really upset that a nasty degenerate male decided to ruin it!”

Kokichi giggles. “I really did try my best though.”

“Ouma, that statue fooled no one,” Kaito deadpans. “Even it’s arm fell off!”

“Are you trying to give inventors a bad reputation?!” Miu barks.

Kiyo hums. “You do a good job of doing that yourself actually.”

“We’re getting off topic again,” Maki frowns. “I last saw Angie when I left the dining room.”

“Me too,” Rantaro says. 

“Angie stayed behind after breakfast,” Tsumugi says. “She didn’t say much but I do remember her saying that she was going to go her lab! Actually, didn’t she ask you to go too, Yumeno?”

“Huh?” Himiko blinks slowly. “She did?”

“Shirogane, did you forget that Tenko already said that Yumeno spent the entire day with her?” Tenko says. “Even if Angie did ask Yumeno to go to her lab, Tenko can confirm that Yumeno didn’t go because we were together all day!”

“Y-Yes, but,” Tsumugi hesitates. “I’m just trying to help the group, Chabashira. Any information right now is really valuable.”

“But I didn’t go to Angie’s lab,” Himiko says quietly. “I was with Tenko all day.”

“Ooh, what were you both up too?” Kokichi asks with a sickly sweet smile. “Perhaps it’s Tenko who has been the true degenerate all along!”

Tenko’s face turns a furious shade of red. “Tenko demands you take that back before she uses her neo aikido on you! How dare you suggest that Tenko is a degenerate! Yumeno and I actually spent most of our time together in the games room before we were both knocked out!”

“Really?” Kirumi asks. “But you were both found inside of Hoshi’s lab. If that’s the case then why would whoever knocked you both out carry you up two flights of stairs to put you inside a lab?”

“Someone really strong would’ve had to done it too,” Tsumugi says. “Although, I don’t think Yumeno would’ve been too much of a problem.”

Tenko shrugs dramatically. “Tenko doesn’t know why the degenerate killer decided to carry us upstairs but Tenko will get really angry if they did anything inappropriate!”

“Maybe they simply thought the two of them would’ve been a threat,” Kiyo suggests. “So they locked the two of them up inside one of Hoshi’s showers?”

“If that’s the case,” Rantaro hesitates, putting a hand to his chin. “Then perhaps whoever knocked Yumeno and Chabashira out was someone from Akamatsu’s group.”

“H-Huh?!” Kaito shake his head. “Why would you say that?! Of course none of us would’ve done something like that!”

“Calm down, it was simply a suggestion,” Maki says. “Besides, both Tojo and Amami had been knocked out too. Having four people knocked out is too big of a coincidence. Whoever is responsible for knocking everyone out could’ve been from either group.”

“Someone strong,” Kokichi points out, smiling. “Someone super duper strong! Maybe it was even a ghost!”

“G-Gonta’s ghost,” Tsumugi starts to shake.

“Stop that!” Kaito howls. “It wasn’t a fucking ghost so just shut up, okay?”

Rantaro looks around the room. If someone really did knock out Tenko and Himiko in the games room and carried them both to Ryoma’s lab then they really had to be someone strong. On top of that if the person wasn’t strong enough to carry them both at the same time then they would’ve had to have been quick so they weren’t spotted. There’s not really that many people here who fit that description.

“It was probably Harukawa! She is an assassin after all!” Kokichi chirps.

Maki narrows her eyes. “I only got my talent back recently. After I lost my talent I was weak. Besides, I might’ve been able to carry Yumeno up all the stairs but definitely not Chabashira. She’s bigger and taller than me.”

“And her tits are so much bigger,” Miu points out. “Harukawa doesn’t understand how much weight a single boob even carries!”

“Well if it wasn’t Harukawa then who could’ve done it?” Himiko asks. 

“Don’t worry, Yumeno. Tenko will find out!” Tenko promises. “She thinks it was definitely a horrible degenerate!”

“You can take Momota and I off the list!” Kokichi easily says. “I’m too lazy to carry people around and Momota is too weak!”

“No I’m not!” Kaito insists.

Maki scowls. “Momota, you aren’t helping. Besides, he does have a point. You would’ve been took weak to carry both Yumeno and Chabashira up the stairs.”

“W-Well I didn’t but I totally think I could!” Kaito says. “I wasn’t feeling so good anyway so I was in my room.”

“It’s probably safe to say that Amami didn’t do it either,” Kirumi says. “I don’t see why he would’ve knocked out Yumeno and Chabashira. After all, he was also knocked out himself. It seems that someone had a reason to make sure that people were unconscious.”

“Well, Saihara? Did you do it?” Kokichi asks, batting his eyelashes.

Shuichi numbly shakes his head. 

“Then it had to have been Shinguji!” Tenko announces. “He’s the only degenerate left so it had to have been-”

“Excuse me but I have to disagree with you,” Kiyo says. “Most of my day was spent guarding the tunnels or with Shirogane. Please think before you speak next time.”

“Looks like Shinguji lives to ku another day,” Kokichi says with a sigh. 

“But Tenko refuses to believe that a girl did this!” Tenko cries in distress. “Besides, Tenko doesn’t think any of the girls would’ve had any motive to hurt so many people!”

“Um, what about Akamatsu?” Tsumugi suggests. 

“Akamatsu?” Himiko blinks. 

“Well, she was the Ultimate Assassin so maybe she-”

“No.” Shuichi shakes his head. “No, it couldn’t have been her.”

“Do you have any evidence to back that up?” Kirumi sympathetically asks. 

Shuichi quietly ignore her. 

“Uh oh,” Kokichi looks from side to side. “Maybe it was-”

“No!” 

“Ahh!” Kokichi recoils, hiding his face behind his arms. 

Kaito puts a hand on Shuichi’s shoulder. “Hey, calm down! I believe in Kaede too but first we need to prove that she didn’t do it!”

“There should be some evidence to prove that she didn’t,” Maki says. 

“Why are you trying to defend her?” Shuichi suddenly asks. “Why now?”

“But don’t you want to clear Akamatsu’s name?” Rantaro asks. 

“Yes but,” Shuichi clenches his fists. “Why are we trusting Harukawa? She tried to kill Akamatsu once before! Why aren’t we suspecting her more?! She has never liked Akamatsu!”

Maki silently looks to the side, her lips going thin.

“I didn’t know you disliked Harukawa this much,” Kirumi quietly says. 

“You seemed fine with her in the tunnels,” Kiyo agrees. 

“Stop it,” Maki suddenly says. “It’s fine.”

“But,” Kaito looks like a lost puppy. “You didn’t kill Kaede or Angie!”

“Then I’ll have to prove it,” Maki says. “I don’t care if Saihara suspects me. He is right though. I did try and kill her once. You all really should stop being so trusting of each other.”

Rantaro looks down at his monopad and goes through the list of evidence. As much as he wants to find something that will prove Kaede’s innocence, there really is nothing there.

“Maybe we should also consider Angie as the person who did this too,” Rantaro says. 

“Huh? Angie?” Himiko repeats. “You think Angie did this?”

“You degenerate!” Tenko sighs. “Aren’t you forgetting that we’re looking for someone strong! Angie was smart but she wasn’t strong. Angie wouldn’t have been able to carry Yumeno and Tenko up all those stairs!”

“Then perhaps someone else knocked you and Yumeno out,” Rantaro says. “But you’re also forgetting that Tojo and I hadn’t been moved from Yumeno’s lab.”

“If that’s the case then anyone could’ve knocked you two out,” Kaito says.

Rantaro fiddles with one of his rings on his finger. “Whoever did it must’ve stayed in the lab after they had hit Tojo. I had heard a thump when I was heading towards the lab and I had only taken a step inside before I had been knocked out.”

“Then perhaps whoever hit you both was someone small or perhaps crafty,” Kiyo says. “Which would fit Angie perfectly.”

“And Akamatsu,” Kokichi reminds the room. “She could’ve easily knocked them both out before killing Angie! I bet she was waiting inside the lab to get Angie but then Tojo and Amami got in the way! Then, Angie entered the lab and before Angie could even think, Akamatsu killed her!”

“But why would Akamatsu knock out both Amami and Tojo? Weren’t they all friends?,” Kiyo points out. 

Kokichi shrugs. “Reflex perhaps? When Tojo entered the room and Akamatsu saw that it wasn’t Angie, instead of killing her she spared Tojo instead and knocked her out.”

“Is this really fair?” Kirumi squirms. “I feel uncomfortable talking about the dead this way. Akamatsu and Angie have no way of defending themselves yet we’re here making theory after theory about them. We eagerly jump on any thought of them being the culprit.”

“Sorry Tojo but we must discuss absolutely everything!” Kokichi cheers. “And I don’t hear anyone here trying to claim that they did it instead!”

“You idiot, of course no one would!” Miu rolls her eyes. “You’d have to be a special kind of stupid to tell everyone that you’re the culprit!”

“But Hoshi did,” Himiko quietly points out. 

“H-How about this!” Kaito quickly says. “Who were the last people that Tojo and Amami saw?”

“Tojo,” Amami easily says. “I had gone to Gonta’s lab after I saw her then I went to Yumeno’s lab.”

“I was with Shirogane last,” Kirumi dutifully says. “However, I remember her leaving the lab. We had both been cleaning up the gym together when Shirogane realised that she had to go and make food. I cleaned up the lab myself after that but since I had lost my own talent, it took a lot longer than I expected. I had returned to the lab to put away one last item when I had been hit.”

“I swear it wasn’t me!” Tsumugi panics. “I really had gone to the dining hall to make food for everyone! I only stopped when Shinguji came in and requested for tea! After that, we sat down for a while and talked about our families!”

“Indeed,” Kiyo says. “When I had looked into the kitchen there had been lots of food that had been prepared. In fact, there was a rather nice looking soup that Shirogane had made.”

“Well, Angie was the one who asked for it,” Tsumugi supplies. “Oh!”

“Oh?” Maki repeats. 

Tsumugi’s face burns. “I’m really sorry everyone! I forgot that Angie came into the kitchen a little later on to get her soup!”

“It’s fine,” Kirumi says. “At this moment of time, we still have no clear time slots for anything.”

“Still, maybe it means something,” Rantaro says. “Please try not to forget something so important next time.”

“Next time?” Kokichi echoes. “You’re making it sound like you want someone else to be killed!”

“That’s not what I meant,” Rantaro responds. He can feel his ears burn. “Ouma, I know you have a problem with me but right now we need to figure out who killed Angie and Akamatsu. I don't have time to deal with your behavior right now but for the sake of the group can you just cut it out?”

Kokichi pouts. “Whatever.”

“Perhaps this means we could consider Angie as the suspect for knocking out Tojo and Amami,” Kiyo says. “We can’t rule anyone out at the moment.”

“But why would she knock them out?” Himiko asks, leaning forwards. 

“Someone in the council should have a good idea,” Maki says. “They were the ones who had been around Angie the most.”

“Tenko really doesn’t know,” Tenko says. “Tenko knows that she was really upset about there being so many people in the tunnels but Tenko doesn’t think that Angie would actually want to kill anyone!”

“Actually,” Maki argues, “if you remember what she said earlier this morning, she said that she had no problems sealing up the tunnels if I was inside of them.”

“That’s so fucked up!” Kaito shakes his head, gritting his teeth.

Maki shrugs. “She died before she had the chance. There’s no point in getting upset over it.”

Kokichi smiles wide. “But it does give you a motive to kill Angie!”

“I didn’t kill her,” Maki answers straight away. “I was in my room the entire time.”

“Even so, we should discuss every possibility,” Kiyo says, sighing when Maki glares at him. 

_Nonstop Debate_

“You did this during the last trial,” Maki says. “You tried to blame me even though you had no evidence to prove it was me. Now you’re doing it during this trial too.”

“There isn’t any evidence to say it wasn’t you,” Kokichi cooly argues. 

“I was with Harukawa when we were talking with Angie. She was more concerned about bringing Saihara back to the tunnels,” Rantaro admits. 

“Yeah, and Harukawa spent a lot of the day looking after me too!” Kaito insists. 

Maki’s face goes red as she scrunches her fists. “You didn’t have to tell everyone that.”

“We should discuss Angie’s injuries,” Kirumi says. “She had multiple stab wounds, yes?”

“Twenty eight stab wounds?” Tsumugi gasps. “Did she even give Angie a chance?!”

“No, there wasn’t that many,” Kiyo says. “There was a couple however.”

“If I’m correct, they were in rather random areas,” Rantaro says. “Which would mean that it couldn’t have been Harukawa, she would’ve been more precise-”

“No, that’s wrong!”

_Counter!_

Shuichi tilts his hat up as he stares down Rantaro. “Harukawa might’ve not had her talent if she had killed Angie. The Ultimate Assassin would’ve been able to kill Angie in one go but she had lots of wounds. We can’t rule out Harukawa but we can rule out Akamatsu.”

“Um, yeah,” Rantaro quietly agrees. “I guess so.”

“So does that mean whoever killed Angie is in this room?” Tsumugi pales. 

Maki shrugs. “It’s like what Saihara said. Angie’s stab wounds were all over her body. If Akamatsu had killed Angie then she would’ve just done it in one shot. I know that she would’ve been able to.”

“But we’re on about you, not Kaede,” Kaito says. “I mean, it’s great that we’ve figured out that Kaede couldn’t have killed Angie but-”

“Drop it, Momota,” Maki sighs. “Let’s just be satisfied knowing that Akamatsu didn’t die a murderer.”

Kokichi hums. “Who knows. Maybe she snapped and stabbed Angie over and over again. The two of them were rivals after all. Angie had snatched Akamatsu’s precious Saihara away from her so maybe Akamatsu got super jealous and-”

“I returned,” Shuichi firmly says. “So, Akamatsu would’ve had no reason to kill Angie.”

“If it wasn’t Akamatsu then who did it?” Himiko questions. She pulls on her large hat. “We’re just going around in circles.”

“Well right now we are questioning Harukawa,” Kiyo helpfully points out. 

“And I’m saying that I didn’t do it,” Maki responds, scowling. 

“We really shouldn’t be singling anyone out right now,” Rantaro says. “Right now, both Angie’s and Akamatsu’s deaths are shrouded with mystery. We have no alibis that truly help with the trial, we don’t even know who died first and the Monokuma Files aren’t helpful at all.”

“But the trial would be boring if I told you all everything!” Monokuma sighs. “So put your heads together and think! I’m not paying you all just to sit around all day!”

“You’re not paying us at all,” Maki points out.

“Well what the fuck are we supposed to do now?” Miu asks. “We’re all screwed and not in the good way! Who was the stupid virgin who decided to kill someone even after someone else died?”

“We have no way of knowing who died first!” Tsumugi trembles. “We’ve already established this!”

“There must be some way of figuring out the sequence of events,” Kiyo sighs. “But right now everything is simply too confusing.”

That’s right. Everything's a mess right now. Rantaro tries to think. Both him and Kirumi had been knocked out in Himiko’s lab. Tenko and Himiko had been knocked out in the games room and taken to Ryoma’s lab. Kokichi and Miu had been together in Miu’s lab. Tsumugi and Shinguji had spent some time together inside of the dining hall. Maki had been inside her room or looking after Kaito. That really left one person with no solid alibi and that’s Shuichi, but there’s no way he killed Kaede. They’ve already figured that out.

Angie on the other hand…

No, that can’t be right. There’s no evidence to say he did. Yet, as Rantaro tries remember what Shuichi’s alibi is, he realises that he hasn’t said anything. On top of that, everyone else at one point or another had an alibi with someone else. 

Kokichi smiles brightly, rolling up onto his tip toes. “Saihara, what was your alibi again?”

Shuichi blinks at him. “Hmm?”

“I said, what have you been doing all day? I mean, we already know that you didn’t kill Akamatsu so congrats for not killing your girlfriend but what about Angie? You claimed that you joined Angie’s council to keep Akamatsu safe but is that really it?” Kokichi’s face twists into something darker, a large sneer growing on his face. “Maybe you joined her council so gain her trust! Then, when she was least expecting it bam! You killed her!”

“Ouma!” Kaito yells in shock. His face goes purple. “What the hell do you think you’re playing at?!”

“I’m trying to figure out who killed Angie, duh,” Kokichi responds. “I know Saihara is all sad now but that doesn’t mean we should ignore him! He’s the only person here who hasn’t even tried to give us an alibi! He only cares about clearing a dead girl’s name!”

“That’s not true,” Maki snipes. “He also wants to find out who killed her-”

“So he can convince everyone in the room that they should be executed!” Kokichi throws his arms out dramatically. “We’ll all take pity on him because he’s depressed since his girlfriend died so instead of voting for him as the killer, we’ll vote for whoever actually killed Akamatsu! It’s so sick!”

“No, you’re sick for thinking that’s what Shuichi wants!” Kaito argues. 

“No, you’re sick!” Kokichi replies. “Actually sick!”

Tsumugi fiddles with her glasses. “Um, maybe we should all calm down and hear Saihara out? It’s not too late for him to give us his alibi.”

“Very well,” Kiyo closes his eyes. “Saihara, what were you doing today? Were you with anyone?”

Shuichi looks away and pulls his hat so that it hides his face. Rantaro can see from where he’s standing that the detective is trembling. Still, Shuichi really does need to give his alibi before Kokichi can pin the blame on him.

“I was,” Shuichi swallows. “I was inside, the, um, inside…”

“Hey, don’t cry bro!” Kaito kindly puts an arm around Shuichi. “I’m sure everything will be fine!”

Shuichi takes a deep breath, clearly trying to swallow his nerves. “I was inside Akamatsu’s lab. I wanted to practice a song for her. But…”

“But?” Himiko repeats.

“I tried really hard,” Shuichi continues. “I wanted to play something that would make Akamatsu really happy because I know she was stressed but then all the notes started to get muddled up and it didn’t matter how much I tried, I just couldn’t finish a song! I spent so long trying to finish a song but it was like my hands weren’t listening to me. I hated myself because all I wanted was to cheer Akamatsu up so I thought that I should bring her up to the lab and try again but, but…”

“She was no longer alive,” Kiyo finishes. “How tragic.”

“Tenko thinks it was nice that you were trying to cheer Akamatsu up but Tenko finds it strange that you suddenly couldn’t remember how to play the piano,” Tenko admits. “Did you just forget?”

Shuichi shakes his head. “When I first started playing I was fine but then a little while into playing I just completely forgot how to play. All the keys looked muddled up and it was like I couldn’t hear the notes, like I was underwater.”

“Perhaps you needed a violinist to accompany you?” Tsumugi suggests. 

Kokichi sighs. “Geez, another sob story. So what that you were playing the piano. You were still on your own. You could’ve been lying. I don’t remember anyone else suddenly forgetting their talent.

“Wait a second,” Kiyo says. “Actually-”

“Nope, not at all,” Kokichi sighs louder.

Rantaro shakes his head. He remembers someone mentioning something strange during the investigation. 

_Nonstop debate_

“Why would someone just forget their fucking talent like that? Wouldn’t have everyone noticed when they suddenly lost their talent?” Miu asks. 

“Not really,” Kirumi admits. “Four people were unconscious and the talent shifts could’ve happened when they were out.”

“That still leaves seven people still to notice,” Kiyo says. “I for one did not notice my talent shifting back to its original.”

“Neither did I,” Maki admits. “I just remember heading back to Akamatsu’s murder scene and then trying to figure out what happened. I knew I was an assassin again because I was taking in the scene rather quickly instead of thinking about space.”

“Space…” Kaito drools. 

“Ah! Wait a second!” Tsumugi cries. “I think I know!”

_Consent!_

“Shirogane, I think I know what you’re on about,” Rantaro says. 

Tsumugi smiles bashfully. “Ah, it’s rather embarrassing really. I was so excited about being a maid but I ended up being a rather lousy one. Now that I think about it, what happened in the dining room must’ve been caused by the talent shift.”

“What happened?” Himiko asks. 

“Shirogane was pouring me a cup of tea when she dropped the kettle,” Kiyo reveals. “Thankfully, no one was hurt. However, it was a rather strange sight to see. All of a sudden she dropped the kettle with no warning, as if her hands had just stopped working for that one moment.”

“We cleaned the mess up together and then I tried to make him another cup,” Tsumugi says. “Although the tea didn’t actually taste that nice.”

“So two people experienced the talent shifts,” Maki says. 

“Well, maybe I did too,” Kaito explains. “When I was heading for the tunnels I could not stop thinking about space!”

“Did you only start thinking about space when you were heading towards the tunnels?” Kirumi asks. 

Kaito laughs nervously. “I really can’t remember. I was actually napping before I went to the tunnels. I did wake up and start to think about space though.”

“So you’re useless,” Kokichi murmurs. 

“Maybe it’ll give us a time frame for when the first murder occured,” Rantaro says. “I presume that the talent shift only happened because a murder occurred. As soon as the first victim died, everyone got their talents back.”

“It seems so,” Maki agrees. 

“Shirogane, do you remember when you started to make the tea?” Kirumi asks. 

“Oh, it must’ve been late in the afternoon,” Tsumugi comments. “I was busy preparing for our dinner when Shinguji came into the dining hall for a cup of tea. Perhaps around half four?”

“What about Angie?” Kokichi suddenly asks. “You said she came in to get some soup right? What time did she come to get it?”

“Um, I really can’t remember,” Tsumugi admits. “Perhaps it was around four?”

“So Angie was last seen alive around four,” Kiyo hums. 

“Then that must mean Akamatsu was killed before half four,” Maki comments. “Saihara stopped being able to play during that time and must’ve given up after a while so he went to see Akamatsu instead.”

Kirumi’s eyes widen. “So does that mean Akamatsu is the first victim?”

“Not necessarily,” Maki responds. “Angie was last seen at four. She could’ve been killed before half four too. At the very least, the two of them must’ve been killed at very similar times, maybe even seconds after each other.”

“Wait, why are you so sure Kaede was killed before half four?” Kaito asks. “I’m stumped!”

“Saihara mentioned that he didn’t stick around to play the piano for much longer after he forgot how to play it. Shirogane mentioned that she lost her talent at around half four. Saihara presumably went to the tunnels only a couple of minutes after forgetting his talent, correct?” Maki asks.

Numbly, Shuichi nods. 

“During that time, the killer left the tunnels and someone else went in first,” Maki says. “We don’t know why they were down there but I presume due to the rather small time gap, maybe they went to look for someone to tell.”

“Maybe,” Tsumugi clasps her hands together. “But what about Angie? How do we figure out if she was killed first?”

“We can’t, for now,” Maki admits. “All we know is that someone died just before half four. Saihara saw Akamatsu only minutes after losing his talent and someone saw her body even earlier than that. However, that doesn’t mean that Akamatsu was killed first. It simply means we need to now figure out who really saw Angie last.”

“Who really?” Tsumugi repeats.

“I think Harukawa means that someone else saw Angie first before she died,” Rantaro says. “Someone who also wasn’t the killer.”

Himiko pales. “S-Someone who wasn’t the killer?”

“But we’re dealing with super short time frames here!” Tenko cries. “If someone saw Angie before she died who wasn’t the killer then…”

Kokichi’s eyes light up. “Then that means someone in this room is lying about their alibi! Which is something that I’ve totally suspected from the start right away.”

“You have?! Why haven’t you said anything about it then you little shit?!” Miu angrily yells. “Hurry up then? Who's the liar?! We need to set their pants on fire!”

Kokichi smiles. “Well then, the liar is-”


	17. Chapter 17

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> :,)))
> 
> The next chapter should be updated on Thursday. Sorry that it's gonna take awhile :,)

“W-Wait!”

Kokichi tilts his head to the side, his face turning blank. “Oh?”

“Tenko?” Himiko’s breath hitches.

Tenko takes a deep breath. “Tenko would like to explain herself before that nasty male says anything.”

“Chabashira?” Rantaro blinks in surprise. “You lied about your alibi?”

“Tenko...Tenko did,” Tenko says slowly. “Um, Tenko _wasn’t_ exactly knocked out. Tenko lied about that.”

“You lied?” Miu cries. “Why the fuck would you do that?”

“Tenko has a very good reason for why she lied!” Tenko reveals. “So please hear Tenko out! Tenko promises that she’ll tell the truth from now on! Tenko swears on her life!”

“Well, out with it then,” Maki says harshly.

Tenko narrows her eyes. “Don’t rush me! Anyway, Tenko needs to get something off her chest,” Tenko says as her eyes start to water. “Um, Tenko really doesn’t know how to say this but she really is super sorry! Tenko didn’t want to hurt anyone but Tenko had no choice! So, Tenko lured Yumeno into the games room since no one was there and she knocked her out…”

“T-Tenko?” Himiko grips onto the edge of her hat tightly. “Why are you-”

“Tenko is really sorry, Yumeno!” Tenko says as she bows down, her pigtails tumbling over the side of her podium. “Tenko saw that something horrible had happened so Tenko decided to give you an alibi! Tenko is really sorry that she knocked you out and she really hopes that she didn’t hurt you! Tenko will make sure that Tojo will check over you after the trial.”

“Why the hell would you knock her out?!” Kaito asks in alarm. “Couldn’t you have just like, stayed by her side or something?”

“That wasn’t possible!” Tenko insists. “Tenko had to knock Yumeno out so that Tenko could give Yumeno an alibi! Then Tenko locked Yumeno and Tenko inside of Hoshi’s lab and threw away the key so that no one would suspect them! T-Tenko knows that it sounds really strange but Tenko will explain everything so please be patient!”

“How did you even manage to lock yourself inside the cage?” Kirumi asks, blinking. 

“Tenko managed to fit her hands through the bars and lock the door. Then, Tenko threw the keys out of the window into the pool. Yumeno and Tenko stayed inside the cage until Harukawa found us.”

“Um, but why did Chabashira have to give Yumeno an alibi in the first place?” Tsumugi points out. “Chabashira must’ve known something had happened for her to do all of this. Does that mean she knew about a murder?”

Tenko winces. “T-Tenko was just getting to that.”

“Oh really?” Kokichi questions with a grin. “Because so far, all I’ve heard are a bunch of lies! Tell me, Chabashira. When are you going to stop lying and just tell the truth?”

“Tenko is telling the truth this time!” Tenko desperately insists. “Because, because…”

“Because?” Kiyo puts a hand to his mouth. 

“Tenko killed Angie!” Tenko blurts out. 

Himiko’s eyes widen. “Tenko!?”

“It was you who killed Angie?” Kaito asks in alarm. “Holy shit!”

“So if everyone will just quiet down, Tenko will explain herself!” Tenko says quickly. “Tenko is extremely sorry that she kept this from you for all this time but Tenko was...Tenko was really scared.”

Kokichi pauses and ignores Tenko when she sends him a look of disgust. 

“If you killed Angie then did you also kill…” Shuichi hesitates. 

“No!” Tenko throws her hands out. “Tenko promises she had a reason to kill Angie but she didn’t kill Akamatsu! Tenko promises that she only wanted the best for Akamatsu so please don’t suspect me of her murder! Tenko really thinks that she should just focus on Angie for now-”

“If you killed Angie then were you responsible for knocking both Tojo and Amami out?” Maki questions.

“Y-Yeah,” Tenko announces. “Tenko is really sorry and she hopes that she didn’t hurt Tojo too much!”

“What about me?” Rantaro weakly argues. 

“So you knocked out Amami and Tojo, killed Angie, then knocked out Yumeno so that she could have an alibi?” Kiyo summarises. “That does seem like an unusual sequence of events. Why on earth would you knock out three people? Two of them were girls and even then, you’re also admitting that you killed a girl. This really doesn’t sound like you, Chabashira.”

“Tenko thinks you should mind your own business,” Tenko snaps. 

Kaito recoils. “But why? Why did you go through all the trouble of knocking out three people and killing Angie? You were on her council!”

“Tenko had a lot of disagreements with Angie,” Tenko admits. “S-So, Tenko also has a motive to kill Angie!”

“You do?” Kirumi asks. 

Rantaro rubs his forehead. It still hurts. There is a constant throbbing that rings around his skull and he has no way to stop it whilst he’s in the class trial. Now that Tenko has made a big announcement, his head hurts even more. Even so, he needs to think. Why does Tenko have a motive to kill Angie?

_Psyche Taxi Start!_

Once again, Rantaro finds himself inside of the dreaded pink car. Honestly, why couldn’t he have some other way of transport. Maybe running? It would suit him and even his name actually. Still, Rantaro begrudgingly takes a hold of the steering wheel and puts his foot down on the pedal. 

**Who was in Angie’s council?**

Once again a line of three figures show up when Rantaro finally manages to collect enough boxes. He looks at the three hot pink figures and puts his foot down firmly, allowing his car to crash into the figure that’s in the middle. Safely, they appear in the back of his taxi. 

**_“Tenko, Himiko, Kokichi, Miu, Tsumugi and Shuichi”_ **

He drives the car along the road, ignoring his new passenger in the back of his car. The boxes that move from side to side start to give him a migraine and he grits his teeth as he slams both hands on the steering wheel, making sure to hit all the boxes that he can see. Once he finally hits enough boxes, he sighs in relief. Every time he had hit into one, a loud sound effect would play. 

**What was Angie’s original talent?**

That’s easy enough. Rantaro ignores all of the figures that call out the wrong answer and confidently drives into the figure that is on Rantaro’s left. As predicted, they too jump into the back of the car.

**_“Ultimate Artist”_ **

Once again, Rantaro finds it difficult to collect the boxes for the last question. They move side to side in a dizzying way and Rantaro wishes that he can close his eyes. The way the boxes shine brightly and the sound they make when they hit into the car, it’s almost too much. However, Rantaro continues to drive, knowing that this will be the last time he’ll be in this car during the trial. Hopefully.

**Who received Angie’s talent?**

Another easy question? Rantaro feels a little confused as he drives into the last figure. They sit next to him this time.

**_“Tenko Chabashira”_ **

The minigame didn’t exactly give Rantaro the answer that he was looking for but he quickly starts to put the pieces together. Tenko was in Angie’s council. Tenko was the one who received Angie’s talent as the Ultimate Artist. Angie assumed that Tenko could hear her God and so trusted Tenko. If that’s the case then Angie probably told Tenko everything, including what her plans were for the students that weren’t listening to her. If that’s what had happened then there’s a high chance that Angie told something Tenko really didn’t like, which resulted in Tenko killing Angie. 

Rantaro takes a deep breath. “You killed Angie because she was planning something that you really disagreed with.”

“That’s right,” Tenko confidently says. “You’re pretty smart for a degenerate.”

“But what was Angie planning?!” Tsumugi asks, holding her hands to her chest. “Angie never told anyone in the council about this!”

“Apart from Chabashira,” Kokichi helpfully says.

Tenko scowls. “Shut up, degenerate!”

“So, Chabashira. What was Angie planning? It had to have been something rather sinister since you decided to kill her over it,” Kiyo expresses. 

Tenko pokes her fingers together. “Um, r-right. Tenko was just getting onto that.”

“Well then?” Kokichi asks impatiently, drumming his fingers against the podium. “We’re waiting.”

“Tenko will explain! Don’t rush her!” Tenko says, wiping away the sweat that has started to form on her forehead. “S-So, Angie, um, decided that she, um, well, Angie told Tenko last night that, um, well, you see-”

“Are you trying to stall because you can’t think of a good enough lie?” Kokichi asks, his face turning blank.

“No, that’s not it!” Tenko says, clearing flustered. “Tenko just thinks what Angie had planned was horrible.”

“Something horrible?” Kaito repeats. 

“Yes!” Tenko exclaims. “Angie wanted to trap Harukawa down in the tunnels and Tenko disagreed! Tenko knew Angie was fine with everyone else maybe but Angie really wanted to get rid of Harukawa because she’s an assassin!”

“Um,” Tsumugi smiles awkwardly. “Chabashira, didn’t Angie realise that Akamatsu had Harukawa’s talent? From the sounds of things, we got to keep our swapped talents until we got our original ones back after a murder had been committed. I would’ve thought Angie would’ve gone after Akamatsu, not Harukawa!”

“N-No,” Tenko retorts. “Angie had already figured that we'd get our talents back after there had been a murder so she thought that going after Harukawa would be smarter because eventually, Harukawa would die in the tunnels and we’d get our talents back.”

“That means no more assassins!” Kokichi ever so helpfully points out.

Maki’s red eyes glare daggers at Kokichi. 

“Tenko knows Angie cared about everyone else really! She wasn’t mad that one half of the group wasn’t listening to her! She only ever really had a problem with Harukawa, I think,” Tenko admits. 

“Tsk,” Kaito wipes at his mouth. “That’s so fucking cruel.”

“That’s why Tenko killed Angie,” Tenko reveals. “Because Tenko...Tenko thought Angie wasn’t being fair. We all would’ve lived in fear if Angie got her own way.”

“If you put it that way,” Tsumugi says.

“So, is that it?” Kiyo concludes. “You admit that you killed Angie?”

“Yes, Tenko doe-”

“Wait!”

Himiko’s face is red as she furiously shakes her head from side to side, her hair swaying along with her motions. She clearly looks distressed, her fists are clenched tight, her hat is tilted back so you can see her face and her eyebrows are pointed downwards. 

“Y-Yumeno?” Tenko stutters. “What’s wrong?”

“You’re lying!” Himiko argues. “You didn’t kill Angie!”

Tenko’s body freezes. “What do you mean? Tenko just explained why she did it! Tenko is really sorry that she’s upset you but-”

“You’re lying because _I_ killed Angie!” Himiko argues quickly. “S-So please, just _stop_.”

Tenko’s eyes widen. “Yumeno?!”

“Wait a second! What the fuck is going on?!” Miu demands. 

Rantaro’s mouth falls open. What on earth is happening? 

Kokichi looks extremely satisfied, folding his arms behind his head. “Finally, _someone's_ telling the truth!”

“Shut up!” Tenko yells, her voice sounding tight. “Yumeno, what are you doing?! Why are you lying?”

“I’m not lying!” Himiko insists. “I can’t let you keep lying! I killed Angie! You know I did!”

“W-What?!” Kaito throws his hands up as his eyes swivel around the room. “Does someone want to explain what the hell is going on? Did you both kill Angie or something?”

“No!” Himiko and Tenko shout at the same time. “I did!”

“What a strange turn of events,” Kiyo muses. “It seems that now they are both defending each other.”

“Tenko is really grateful that you’re trying to get her out of this mess but,” Tenko sadly smiles. “Tenko _really_ did kill Angie. Yumeno, Tenko really doesn’t want you to get hurt so please just-”

“No! I don’t want to lie anymore!” Himiko argues. She wears a look of defeat as she slumps forward. “I killed Angie and I have proof!”

“Yumeno, you have no motive to kill Angie,” Tenko reasons. “But Tenko does! Tenko has already explained it to the class why she killed Angie.”

Himiko lets out a shout of frustration, tears gathering in the corner of her eyes. “I killed Angie! You know I did! You helped me sort out my lab so it couldn’t be linked back to me!”

“So Yumeno wasn’t even knocked out?” Kirumi observes. 

“She was!” Tenko insists. “Because Tenko-”

“Chabashira, will you shut up!” Kokichi groans loudly. “We all know that you’re lying!”

“But!” Tenko’s eyes start to shine. “Tenko really did-”

Tsumugi sympathetically smiles. “Chabashira, we really should hear Yumeno out. I know that you want to protect her but it’s really important that we hear everything that everyone has to say. If Yumeno is really telling the truth then we need to hear what truly happened.”

Himiko sniffles. “I really did kill Angie b-but I didn’t mean to!”

“Yumeno, do you think you can tell us what happened?” Rantaro asks softly, sensing that the young girl is currently really upset. He doesn’t even have it in him to be angry with her right now.

Himiko nods as she wipes her eyes with her sleeves. “After breakfast, Angie asked me to meet her at her lab. When I got there, she said that she had a wonderful idea and wanted me to meet her inside my lab later on in the day since she said she was busy with something else. I didn’t think it was strange so I did but when I got there, I saw Angie with a shot put ball in her hands and Amami and Tojo on the floor. I thought...I thought that Angie killed them!”

“So you killed her?” Maki asks. 

“I didn’t mean too!” Himiko responds quickly. “It was an accident! I think Angie was trying to talk to me but I was so scared that I pushed her when she got to close. She tripped on the floor and ended up falling into my box of swords.”

“But Amami and I investigated the box,” Kirumi says. “All of them had been placed inside the box downwards. There was no way she could’ve been killed by falling on flat swords. Besides, the only one that was bloody was the katana.”

“That’s because the swords were taken out,” Himiko explains. “They had been sticking out originally but I washed them so people wouldn’t figure out what happened.”

“But where did you wash them?” Kiyo questions. “Surely someone would’ve seen you carrying around a bunch of swords. It would’ve been pretty stupid to have walked out of the lab with the murder weapons.”

“That’s because I didn’t,” Himiko says. 

“Yumeno, please stop!” Tenko cries. 

Rantaro thinks. He should be able to answer this.

_Mind Mine_

Rantaro’s mind is currently a mess. He can almost imagine that all of his thoughts are blocked by colourful blocks. He gently knocks them away piece by piece, clearing his mind as he tries to think of what could’ve cleaned so many swords inside of Himiko’s lab. A tap would be out of the question, Himiko’s lab didn’t have one. There were no signs of any bloody cloths in the lab so they couldn't have been wiped either. So that means that the swords had to have been cleaned with…

“The piranha tank!” Rantaro blurts out, turning pink when everyone turns to look at him with equally confused expressions. “I mean, um, she cleaned the swords using the water from the piranha tank and left them inside the box to dry.”

Himiko nods. “That’s right.”

“No, that’s wrong!” Tenko insists. “Yumeno would’ve have been able to reach the top of the piranha tank so-”

“You washed them for me,” Himiko says. 

“Gck!” Tenko winces. “Yumeno! Tenko can’t defend you if-”

“And why would you want to defend a murderer?” Kokichi asks, moving his head to the side. “Are you saying that you want Yumeno to get away with what she did?”

“Tenko knows that Yumeno didn’t mean to kill Angie!” Tenko shouts in alarm. Her eyes suddenly go wide as she clamps her hand over her mouth. “W-Wait, Tenko didn’t mean-”

“So it really was Yumeno who killed Angie,” Kiyo finally concludes. “This really is a shock. I never would’ve imagined that a girl so tiny like Yumeno would’ve been able to kill someone.”

Himiko sniffles as she wipes her eyes. “It really was just an accident.”

“But Yumeno? Why didn’t you say anything from the start?” Kaito asks. “It would’ve really helped, you know?”

“You stupid degenerate! Do you really think that Yumeno was just going to tell everyone?” Tenko grits her teeth. “It was Tenko who told Yumeno not to say anything! Tenko did everything she could to make it look like Yumeno wasn’t the killer but Tenko panicked when Ouma said he knew that someone was lying and now everything is such a mess!”

“I know, right?” Kokichi bounces up and down. “The best part is that I wasn’t even on about you when I said someone was lying!”

There’s a pause before the room explodes into chaos.

“What the fuck is that supposed to mean!?” Miu cries, her spit spraying from her mouth. 

“Someone else is lying?!” Kaito stomps his foot. “Who is it?! Who?!”

"Well obviously they aren’t going to say anything now,” Maki sighs, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear. 

Tsumugi worriedly looks from side to side. “Oh dear, I think Ouma has just made everything worse.”

“So Tenko lied for no reason?!” Tenko’s eyes angrily dart around the room. 

“It wasn’t for no reason,” Rantaro points out. “At least now we know who killed Angie.”

Himiko sadly looks at the floor. 

“Everyone! Please calm down!” Kirumi tries to shout over everyone but her soft voice is lost. 

Kiyo simply sighs as he closes his eyes, attempting to block out all of the noise. 

“Geeeez! You’re all really annoying!” Kokichi complains, loud enough that everyone in the room finally stops yelling to glare at the smaller male. 

Kaito pounds his fists together. “I’m annoying?!”

“Ah, thanks for warning us!” Kokichi winks. 

“Everyone, stop!”

Shuichi furiously puts his foot down, glowering at everyone inside the courtroom. 

“Now that we know who killed Angie, we need to move onto Akamatsu!” Shuichi says. “So instead of arguing, we need to start to figure out what happened.”

“Ah, you’re right,” Tsumugi softly agrees. “I’m sorry.”

“Pfft, do we really need to talk about Akamatsu?” Kokichi asks. “We already know that Yumeno killed Angie so let's vote for her!”

“N-No!” Himiko insists.

“How could you suggest such a thing!” Tenko cries in disbelief. “Akamatsu was probably killed first! We should figure out who her killer is and vote for them!”

“That’s so mean, Chabashira,” Kokichi points out. “Are you hoping that Akamatsu was killed first so Yumeno doesn’t have to be punished? What if Akamatsu had been the only victim? Would you be as excited to find her killer then? Or are you only relieved that she died because that means you can help your precious Yumeno get away with such a disgusting crime?”

“That’s not it at all!” Tenko slams her fist down on the podium. “T-Tenko is horrified that Akamatsu is dead and Tenko thinks that we should find her killer regardless of the circumstances! But Tenko...Tenko really doesn’t want Yumeno to get punished for a crime she never meant to commit. Monokuma’s executions are so...they’re _terrifying_. Tenko would never let Yumeno go through one of those for as long as Tenko lives!”

“But you’re okay if someone else gets executed instead?” Kokichi raises an eyebrow. 

Rantaro squeezes the bridge of his nose. “For now, we should be focusing on finding out who killed Akamatsu. Ouma, stop trying to rile Chabashira up. We don’t have time for this.”

“That’s right,” Maki agrees. “We need to find Akamatsu’s killer. It’s the least that...we can all do.”

“Or you can do!” Kokichi unhelpfully says.

“Whatever.”

“Perhaps we should discuss Akamatsu’s crime scene?” Kirumi suggests. “The Monokuma File is rather lacking about her cause of death. We don’t have a cause of death for her but we may have a time.”

“Right, before half four,” Kaito supplies. 

“Akamatsu had multiple injuries, correct?” Kiyo states. 

“If Tenko remembers correctly-”

“Nope! You don’t get to participate in the class trial anymore!” Kokichi claps his hands together. “You’ve already tried to trick us into thinking that you killed Angie already. You’ll probably try to defend Akamatsu’s killer too!”

“Tenko wouldn’t! Tenko doesn’t even know who killed Akamatsu!” Tenko argues. 

“Still, he does have a point,” Maki says. “You could lie again-”

“Tenko has no reason to lie!”

“For now,” Rantaro sighs, rubbing his forehead. “Chabashira, maybe you should just listen instead? If you hear something important then you should say something but right now, I just don’t think it’s safe for you to try and help us.”

“But…”

“You can chop their dicks off later but I want to end this fucking trial as soon as we can,” Miu retorts. “So shut up so we can figure out who killed the piano fucker!”

Tsumugi looks uncomfortable as she clears her throat. “So, the injuries?”

“She had quite a few,” Kaito says. “There was the rope burn on her neck and the stab wound. Honestly, I have no idea how she died.”

“I hope it was quick,” Tsumugi mumbles. 

“Probably not!” Kokichi sneers. “I’ve already got a theory on how she died!”

Kaito wears a look of horror on his face. “Ouma, can you stop acting like a shit for one second?”

Kokichi ignores him. “So, Akamatsu is running around in the tunnels and then someone comes up behind her and swoosh! They stab her! Akamatsu, being the idiot that she is, runs into the tunnels for protection but ends up dying before she can actually hide properly! She is caught by one of the cages and deposited to the start of the tunnels where she it later found by our beloved detective!”

“Um,” Tsumugi blinks. 

That doesn’t sound right. Still, maybe Kokichi is onto something. 

_Nonstop Debate_

“Why would Akamatsu run back into the tunnels after she had been attacked?” Kaito asks. 

Kokichi shrugs. “Because she was stupid?”

“An assassin would know better to let themselves get cornered,” Maki says. “If she went into the tunnels, it had to be for a reason.”

“Maybe she didn’t know she was hurt?” Tsumugi suggests. 

“I would think that someone would notice if they had been stabbed,” Kiyo bluntly points out. 

“Still, there is a blood trial inside the tunnels,” Rantaro muses. 

“Hold on a fucking second! The gorgeous girl genius has just remembered something! Ouma has to be wrong because he’s forgotten about the rope!” Miu claims. 

_Consent!_

“I see,” Kirumi nods. “Ouma did forget to bring up the rope during his story.”

“And don’t say that rope wasn’t used!” Kaito quickly says when he notices Kokichi start to open his mouth. “She had a rope burn on her neck! It had to have been used on her at least once!”

“Maybe the killer wanted to strangle her,” Maki says. “And brought the rope down with them. However, if Akamatsu still had my talent, she would’ve been able to fight the killer off and that’s when she ran into the tunnel.”

“I think we should all take a second,” Kiyo says. “Have you all forgotten that the rope in the tunnels clearly hadn’t been used?”

Kaito blinks. “Yeah but, Akamatsu had burn marks on her neck!”

“Hadn’t the rope been cut too?” Tsumugi adds. “Maybe the killer thought that keeping the entire rope would be too obvious and just left one piece behind?”

“But why keep one piece behind when the killer could’ve just taken all of the rope?” Miu asks. “Why did the killer ruin a perfectly good piece of rope? I could’ve used that later on!”

“Me too,” Kiyo sadly agrees. 

“Maybe the rope was there to trick us,” Shuichi says. “The rope might’ve not been actually used during the murder at all.”

“Are you blind? Akamatsu had burn marks on her neck!” Kokichi shakes his head. “I know you’re probably in denial about your girlfriend being dead but-”

“I know she’s dead!” Shuichi hisses. “But I also know someone else besides the killer had to have been down there before I found Akamatsu.”

“Which means someone could’ve messed with the murder scene,” Maki realises. 

“Someone had to have been down there,” Kirumi says. “Akamatsu had been stabbed and yet there was nothing down in the tunnels that could’ve been counted as a weapon.”

“There was rope,” Kokichi points out. 

“You dipshit! You can’t honestly think that Akamatsu was stabbed with a piece of fucking rope!” Miu shouts in disbelief. “If you’re not gonna help us then find something else to occupy your mouth with!”

“Okay, okay!”

“But I’m still confused,” Tsumugi admits. “Did someone go down there and take the rope and another weapon? Why would someone do that?”

“Maybe they were covering up for the killer?” Miu suggests. “Well then, cough it up! It had to have been either Yumeno or Chabashira!”

“H-Huh?” Himiko hugs herself. “I didn’t-”

“Tenko didn't either!” Tenko yells. “Tenko spent most of her time trying to sort out Yumeno’s lab!”

“Well, you could’ve gone down to the tunnels afterwards,” Miu argues. “You first covered up Yumeno’s murder and then realised that Akamatsu was also dead and went fuck it, might as well cover up another murder! For a girl, you sure have some big dick energy!”

“Tenko would prefer it if she didn’t have big dick energy,” Tenko frowns. 

“Well you certainly don’t have big boob energy!”

Himiko flails as she stands up on her tip toes. “I-It couldn’t have been Tenko who went down into the tunnels! Tenko was with me all the time after she had found Angie’s body! I-I can give her an alibi!”

“But what if Akamatsu was killed first?” Maki asks.

“Tenko could’ve gone down to the tunnels first, grabbed the rope and the other weapon and then left to go and see Yumeno,” Kiyo theorises. 

“Aren’t we getting a little too ahead of ourselves?” Rantaro asks. “We are blaming a lot on Chabashira right now. I can believe her trying to cover up a murder for Yumeno but I don’t think she would mess up Akamatsu’s crime scene. Chabashira had a lot of respect for her so if anything, Chabashira would’ve looked for people to set off the body discovery announcement if she had gone down into the tunnels.”

“I agree,” Kirumi says. “It must’ve been someone else.” 

“Chabashira is still suspicous,” Miu says, curling a strand of her curly hair around her finger. “But I guess for the sake of the trial we can discuss another possibility.”

“Right, so we just need to figure out how Akamatsu was killed,” Maki firmly says. “So no messing around-”

“Are you sure it wasn’t you who killed Akamatsu?” Kokichi taunts.

“Ouma,” Kaito growls. 

“I didn’t,” Maki responds. “I had no reason to kill her. I’m only after the mastermind. We already know that Akamatsu isn’t the mastermind.”

“From the looks of things, I think that Akamatsu was either stabbed to death or choked to death,” Kiyo says. “She had a stab wound and a burn mark around her neck, correct?”

“The stabbing probably killed her,” Tsumugi says. “Wasn’t there a blood trial inside of the tunnels? She couldn't have bled from the neck wound and the only blood around Akamatsu was either from her stomach or from her mouth.”

“Her mouth?” Maki repeats. 

“She was probably coughing up blood when she was dying!” Kokichi dramatically cries. “Oh, the horror!”

“Who exactly saw the blood trial?” Maki asks. 

“It was just me,” Rantaro admits. “Unless someone else went into the tunnels?”

“Nope,” Kaito confirms, “I didn’t and I didn’t see Iruma go in them either.”

“Right,” Maki says. “Amami, how big was the blood trial?”

“How big was it?” Rantaro pauses. “There wasn’t actually that much blood. There were a couple of splatters but nothing major. I think the place I found the most blood was inside a cage. Why?”

“Because it’s strange,” Shuichi says. “Akamatsu had been stabbed and she was covered in blood. It even went through Momota’s jacket. Yet, what you’re saying is that the tunnels didn’t have much blood inside of them, which contradicts what we saw with her body.”

“She was covered in so much blood,” Kaito shudders. 

“Maybe Akamatsu got stabbed twice and had a smaller wound we didn’t know about?” Kiyo suggests.

Rantaro shakes his head. “I saw the body for myself. There was only one stab wound. From the size of it, I don’t think she would’ve been able to move much after receiving it.”

“Maybe the killer stabbed her and after realising she wasn’t dead, choked her with the rope?” Tsumugi suggests. 

“That is a possibility,” Kiyo hums. 

“No,” Shuichi shakes his head. “If that’s the case then why is there blood inside of the tunnels? Either Akamatsu or the killer had to have gone into the tunnels and since the time frames are short, I highly doubt that the killer would’ve gone into the tunnels. So that just leaves Akamatsu.”

“Well how the hell was she killed then? Are you suggesting that she didn’t die from neither the rope or being stabbed?” Miu puts her hands on her hips. “That’s impossible! There’s no other way she could’ve been killed!”

“No, there could’ve been,” Maki argues. “We just don’t know it yet.”

“I don’t know, Maki,” Kaito sighs. “It’s a little far fetched. We’ve already got two possible ways that she could’ve died. Adding another way would be too confusing!”

“I agree,” Kiyo says. “A stab wound the size Akamatsu received would most definitely have killed her.”

“Depends on when she got the stab wound!” Kokichi points out. 

“But that’s what killed her, right?” Tsumugi blinks. “Or the rope killed her!”

“We mustn't be too hasty,” Kirumi says. “If there is another possibility, we should discuss it.”

“And waste more time?!” Miu barks. 

“We need to discuss all possibilities!” Shuichi shouts back. “We need to find out what happened to Akamatsu!”

“T-That’s right!” Tenko agrees. “Tenko will not participate in this trial until we can come to an agreement!”

“You’re technically not apart of this trial right now,” Tsumugi meekly points out. 

“But she will be apart of this!” Monokuma happily announces as he whips out his large key. “Uh oh, it looks like we’ve come to a split opinion! Which actually isn’t an uh oh at all because I get to make use of my super awesome trial grounds!”

There’s no warning before Monokuma sticks the key inside of the keyhole. Like the last trial, the podiums all start to hover into the air and slowly split the class into two groups. Rantaro finds that he’s the leader of his group again as the lines are made. On his side are himself, Kokichi, Shuichi, Maki, Kirumi and Tenko. He also notices the portraits of Kaede and Kiibo on his side too. 

The other line consists of Tsumugi, Kaito, Miu, Kiyo and Himiko. The portraits of Gonta, Ryoma and Angie are also on their side.

_Split Opinion!_

**Is there another way that Kaede was killed?**

“We’ve already got two potential ways Akamatsu was killed, why add another?” Kiyo argues.

“Tojo!”

“We need to discuss all potential ways!”

“But there isn’t any proof that there was another way!” Tsumugi claims.

“Harukawa!” 

“There isn’t any proof that Akamatsu died from the stab wound or the rope injury.”

“But there wasn’t any evidence in the tunnels to say she died another way!” Kaito points out.

“Saihara!”

“Someone had messed up Akamatsu’s crime scene. They could’ve removed the evidence to make this trial harder for us!”

“Even if someone did mess up the evidence, we can still look over Akamatsu’s body! She obviously had a stab wound and a rope injury! Are you suggesting that she had one more hidden injury!?” Miu yells.

“Ouma!”

“Oh, she probably had a hidden injury alright!”

“Why are you making this more confusing than it has to be?! It’s clear that Akamatsu was either choked or stabbed to death!” Miu retorts. 

“I’ll answer this! Even though Akamatsu had a stab wound and was possibly choked, we still need to figure out why there was such a small blood trial in the tunnels. Until then, there is another possibility!”

As the two sides argue back and forth, Rantaro soon realises that his team just might win. He shouts out point after point and notices how the other side is slowly backing down, realising that their voices are being drowned out. 

“This is our answer!”

The podiums slowly drift back down towards the floor. The opposing team wear sour looks of dissatisfaction as they reluctantly continue with the trial knowing that Kaede might’ve been killed another way. 

“I know we all just want to find out what happened to Akamatsu as soon as we can but if she did die another way, we need to figure it out,” Rantaro explains. “Otherwise, we’ll never figure out who her killer is.”

“And then we’ll just have to vote for Yumeno,” Kokichi sighs. “What a shame!”

Himiko’s lip wobbles but she doesn’t say anything as she sadly looks away. 

“We’re not voting for anyone until we figure out what happened to Akamatsu,” scolds Kirumi. 

“If we’re going to discuss other ways Akamatsu died then we should start with that,” Tsumugi says. “But, are we all really sure that she died a different way? The Monokuma File doesn’t tell us anything new and her body really doesn’t have any other visible injures.”

Maki huffs. “Then we’ll just have to think harder. Some causes of death aren’t that visible.”

“She had a huge stab wound as well as a rope burn around her neck,” Kiyo dryly points out. “We have two very visual alternatives of ways Akamatsu could’ve died from.”

“Maybe whoever messed up Akamatsu’s crime scene wanted to make the trial more difficult,” Rantaro suggests. 

“Who the hell would want to do that?” Kaito questions. 

“The killer?” Kokichi points out, sighing as if the answer had been obvious. 

“But the time frame,” Shuichi says. “Either the killer left and someone else went down after then or someone went down into the tunnels whilst the killer was there.”

“There’s a higher chance that someone else went down after the killer left,” Maki says. “I don’t see why someone would cover for the killer.”

“Take notes, Chabashira!” Kokichi calls. 

“Say that someone else did come down,” Kiyo says. “Then why would they go down with more weapons? Unless they were intending on killing Akamatsu themselves, I would find it perplexing that someone would enter the tunnels with a katana or rope.”

That’s right, it is strange. Someone had gone into the tunnels presumably moments after the killer had left with weapons of their own. When they realised Kaede was dead, did they get so angry that they stabbed her? But what about the rope marks? Why would they give Kaede burn marks? The class had already established that Kaede had most likely died another way. 

Then, Rantaro pauses. What if the first body witness never went into the tunnels to kill Kaede? They clearly went into the tunnels and messed with the crime scene. But why? What would they have to gain from that? Who would want to make the class trial more confusing?

_Hangman’s Gambit_

The letters bump into each other as Rantaro thinks. There is something very off about this. Due to the timeframe, he highly doubts that the first body witness had time to notice that the body was there, leave and then come back with weapons. They would have risked running into Shuichi. So if that’s the case, then maybe someone knew that Kaede had been killed and decided to mess up the scene to make the trial more difficult for everyone. 

What if they knew that everyone would’ve figured out what happened to Kaede just by looking at her?

Rantaro ponders. Someone who knew that Kaede had been killed before seeing her body and someone who wanted to mess up the crime scene to make the trial more difficult. 

**M**

**A**

**S**

**T**

**E**

**R**

**M**

**I**

**N**

**D**

Rantaro feels cold. 

“Are you okay, Amami? You look pale,” Kirumi says. “Is there perhaps somewhere you can sit?”

“Nope!” Monokuma gleefully answers. “Everyone participating in a class trial must stand until the trial is over! Do you honestly think I could afford seats?!”

“But you can buy floating podiums,” Kiyo mutters. 

“Ah,” Rantaro swallows. “I, um, I think I know who saw Akamatsu first.”

“Who?” Shuichi quickly asks. “Who was it?”

“I-It’s just a guess but, um,” Rantaro rubs the back of his head, suddenly feeling feverish. “I think it was the mastermind.”

Shuichi turns pale. “The mastermind?”

“Y-You think the m-mastermind did this?” Tsumugi asks with a small voice. 

“It would make sense,” Maki nods. “Monokuma clearly knows what’s going on around the academy at all times so maybe he saw Akamatsu’s murder and thought that we’d be able to identify the killer quickly and thought that the trial would go by too quick if the crime scene wasn’t changed.”

“So he asked the mastermind to change it?” Kirumi repeats. 

“Did you really ask the mastermind to do that?” Kaito asks in disgust. 

Monokuma shrugs. “My lawyer said I shouldn’t answer that.”

“So that’s probably a yes,” Maki says in disgust.

“H-Hey, I just said-”

“But that isn't fair!” Shuichi shouts, slamming his fists on the podium. “You can’t just change the crime scene to make the game more interesting! You know that Akamatsu’s killer won’t just out themselves! H-How am I supposed to get justice for Akamatsu if this entire trial has been rigged from the start!”

“It wasn’t me who messed up the crime scene,” Monokuma happily points out. 

“But you did tell the mastermind to change it,” Kirumi furiously points out. “How are we supposed to have a fair class trial if you have made it unfair from the start?”

“Does any of the evidence we even found for Kaede count anymore?” Kaito sweats. “Because if that’s so, we have nothing!”

“Quit complaining!” Monokuma responds. “I gave you plenty of time to investigate! It’s not my fault if everyone has been tampering with all the crime scenes!”

“But Akamatsu-” Shuichi tightly says.

“Fine, fine!” Monokuma groans. “Here’s a hint. A large majority of the clues found inside the tunnels have nothing to do with her murder!”

“Well duh, we already figured that one out,” Miu says. 

“So you cut up a perfectly good rope up for no reason?” Kiyo sadly asks. 

“I needed to confuse you all somehow!” Monokuma exclaims. “I wonder how many people thought the rope was important anyway? I needed something for you all to find! It would be a pretty boring investigation if you all didn’t find anything!”

“But you still messed with this trial,” Maki hisses.

“So what, there’s no rules saying that I can’t,” Monokuma cheerfully says. 

“But that’s not very fair,” Kokichi quietly says under his breath. 

“Everyone, we need to focus,” Rantaro says loudly, catching everyone’s attention. “I know that what Monokuma did was unfair but-”

“We can still figure out what happened to Akamatsu,” Shuichi finishes. “If Monokuma is telling the truth, we can deduce what happened!”

“We can?” Kaito blinks. 

Shuichi nods. “We’ve already deduced that Akamatsu wasn’t killed due to the stab wound or from being choked with the rope. However, Akamatsu did have a purple face when we found her.”

“What does that mean?” Tsumugi asks. 

“It means that Akamatsu probably couldn’t breathe when she died,” Maki says. “But she also wasn’t choked with the rope.”

“Then how did she die?” Miu asks. “Did she choke on her own tits or something?”

“But what about the blood trail?” Tsumugi timidly asks. “I think that’s probably something the mastermind didn’t create because they probably didn’t have much time down there.”

“That’s right,” Rantaro says. “If it wasn’t the mastermind who made the blood trail then it had to have been Akamatsu.”

“But why would she go into the tunnels if she was bleeding?” Kiyo asks. “Wouldn’t she try and get some help?”

“Maybe Akamatsu wasn’t aware that she was dying,” Maki points out. “Assassins are trained to withstand a lot of pain. Maybe it took her a while to realise that she was dying?”

“Perhaps, but wouldn’t her body not be able to withstand the pain?” Kirumi asks. “Akamatsu didn’t go through training to become an assassin. Whilst she had the talent, her body hadn’t changed at all.

“But her mindset did,” Tsumugi says. “Maybe since she was an assassin, she ignored the pain she was feeling when she was dying because isn’t that what an assassin would do? She must’ve just ignored whatever pain she felt whilst she was dying and tried to do the tunnels one last time.”

“But why didn’t she try to get any help?” Shuichi asks. “If she had tried to get help then she would still be alive!”

Kaito bites his lip. “Maybe it was sudden? Like, she knew something was wrong but brushed it off as something not important. Then, like, whilst she was in the tunnels all the pain from her injuries hit her at once?”

“So she died from shock?” Rantaro asks. 

“It’s a possibility,” Maki says. “Amami, was there one specific spot inside the tunnels that was bloodier than the rest?”

“Um, yeah. There was, actually,” Rantaro realises. “Around the part with all the cages. The trail stopped around the cages but when I was caught by one, the cage had been covered with blood, almost as if-”

“Someone had coughed it up,” Maki finishes. 

“Akamatsu was coughing up blood?” Tsumugi asks. 

“She did have blood trickling from her mouth when we found her,” Kiyo says. “As well as that, it would explain why there was only a small blood trail inside the tunnels. She must’ve been coughing it up as she started the tunnels and perhaps not realised until it was too late. She must’ve had to have stopped around the cages where she was caught by one. There, she finally succumbed to whatever had killed her.”

“She died inside of a cage?” Shuichi asks with a small voice. “Trapped?”

“How ironic,” Kokichi mutters. 

Kaito glares at the smaller boy but thankfully doesn’t start arguing. “She could’ve died outside of the cage-”

“But she was still alone!” Shuichi cries.

“Well, technically the killer should’ve been-” Kokichi is swiftly cut off.

“Maybe the killer had left before Akamatsu had died?” Maki suddenly suggests. 

“But the killer had to have stayed to kill Akamatsu,” Kaito weakly points out. “Right?”

Tsumugi gasps. “What if the killer had done something to Akamatsu and knew she was going to die but left so they weren’t caught?”

“Then how did the killer kill Akamatsu?” Miu adjusts her goggles. “This doesn’t make any fucking sense!”

“Actually, it does,” Maki says. “It sounds like to me that Akamatsu’s cause of death was poison.”

“P-Poison?!” Tsumugi’s hands fly to her mouth. “But there wasn’t anything at the scene that suggests she was!”

“The crime scene had been messed with, remember?” Miu says. 

“Do you really think Akamatsu was poisoned?” Kirumi asks. 

Maki nods. “All the killer had to do was give Akamatsu something with poison and then let her do the rest of the work.”

“Wait, are you saying that Bakamatsu killed herself?” Miu cries. “That’s so messed up!”

“I feel sick,” Shuichi murmurs, pulling his hat down. 

“B-But if she did take something that was poisoned, who would be the actual killer?” Kaito asks. “‘Cause if Kaede took the poison herself, then technically she would’ve poisoned herself!”

“Akamatsu didn’t poison whatever was given to her though,” Maki explains. “So therefore, whoever made what had been poisoned would be the killer.”

“Monokuma!” Miu snaps, spinning around on her heel. “Who would be the killer?!”

“Hmm,” Monokuma taps his chin. “A very interesting question. If Akamatsu had fed herself the poison, then technically she would’ve poisoned herself. However, a third party also would be responsible for poisoning Akamatsu. Unless, Akamatsu poisoned herself, of course.”

“She wouldn’t do that!” Shuichi is quick to retort. “She wanted to leave! Why would she, she wouldn’t…”

“We need to consider all possibilities,” Kirumi says softly. 

“No, he’s right!” Kaito argues. “Kaede wouldn’t just give up like that! She had to have been poisoned by someone else!”

“But what was she poisoned with?” Kokichi smiles. “I wonder. Has there been a mention of food during this trial at all?”

“The soup!” Tsumugi blurts out. 

“Why are you so excited? You’re the one who made it,” Miu raises an eyebrow. “That means you’ve gotta be the person who killed Bakamatsu!”

“Hold on a second,” Kiyo puts his hand up. “Shirogane had also given Angie a bowl, remember?”

“So Angie poisoned Akamatsu?” Rantaro says, tilting his head. “So does that mean-”

“T-Tenko doesn’t feel so good.”

“Tenko?” Himiko leans over her podium to look at Tenko. “What’s wrong?”

“Are you going to try and defend another killer?” Miu barks. “We’ve already said, you’re not welcome in this trial anymore!”

Tenko shakes her head. “B-But Tenko…”

“She really does look pale,” Kirumi frets. “Chabashira, what’s wrong?”

“The soup,” Tenko says timidly. “Angie didn’t give Akamatsu the soup.”

“And how would you know that?” Maki asks. 

“Because Angie gave Tenko a bowl of soup!” Tenko stresses. “Angie gave Tenko some soup and Tenko...Tenko fed the soup to Akamatsu.”

Silence.


	18. Chapter 18

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh no,,
> 
> Thank you for reading! I'm not sure when the next update will be but hopefully it won't take a month this time!

“S-Soup?” Shuichi says. “She died because she had some soup?”

“Bakamatsu couldn’t have died from eating some shitty soup,” Miu shakes her head. “You idiots!”

Maki sighs. “The soup would’ve been poisoned, dumbass.”

“D-Dumbass?!”

“T-Tenko had no idea the soup had been poisoned,” Tenko whispers, holding her head in her hands. “Tenko just wanted Akamatsu to have something to eat because Tojo had said that Akamatsu hadn’t eaten her breakfast!”

“But why did you accept soup from Angie of all people?!” Kaito asks. “You literally just said that she wanted to kill Maki!”

“Angie had said Shirogane had made it!” Tenko weakly explains. “She said that Shirogane had made it specific for Akamatsu and Tenko had no reason to think that Shirogane wanted Akamatsu dead!”

“You’re right!” Tsumugi agrees desperately. “I really didn’t want Akamatsu dead! I swear I never poisoned that soup!”

“But how did Chabashrira get into the tunnels in the first place?” Kirumi asks. “I thought that Chabashira had been busy sorting out Yumeno’s lab?”

“Chabashira had gone down to give Akamatsu the soup earlier on in the day,” Kiyo answers. “I personally had no reason to think that Chabashira wanted to go into the tunnels and hurt Akamatsu. I also didn’t think she would be carrying poisoned soup. I like to think that most of the girls here are trustworthy.”

“B-But why did Akamatsu accept the soup?” Shuichi asks. “S-She was an assassin, wouldn’t she have figured it tasted wrong after the first spoonful?”

Tenko sniffles. “Tenko doesn’t know! Tenko made her eat the soup! Akamatsu only objected after she ate half of the bowl and didn’t comment on the taste. She didn’t say it tasted weird or anything!”

“So you spoon fed her the soup?” Tsumugi asks. 

“Akamatsu was in a bad mood and didn’t want to eat it so Tenko ended up shoving a spoon in her mouth!” Tenko answers. 

“Still, how can we be sure you didn’t poison the soup?” Miu questions, leaning forwards. 

“Does it really matter who poisoned the soup?” Kokichi smiles easily, cracking his fingers as he stretches them. “All that matters is that it was Chabashira who fed Akamatsu the soup! That means we’ve found our second killer everyone! Isn’t this great?!”

“O-Of course it isn’t!” Himiko cries as her face turns red. “I don’t believe this!”

“Maybe there is another way,” Kirumi says hurriedly. “Perhaps-”

“Oh, let me guess. Angie went down into the tunnels to poison Akamatsu herself?” Kokichi suggests with a sigh. “Boring! Besides, we’ve already said that Akamatsu and Angie died at super similar times. It would’ve been impossible for Angie to be in two places at once, unless she was the Ultimate Magician. But alas, she had my super awesome talent so I can totally confirm that wasn’t split in half.”

“Just shut up already,” Kaito grumbles. “Why are you so happy anyway?”

“Because we’ve just found our killers?” Kokichi points out as his expression melts into a blank one. “Why are you all sad? Oh, boo hoo, someone is going to get punished for killing someone else. We’re dealing with murder here, in case you’ve all forgotten. We should be begging Monokuma to execute them both right now!”

“Ouma!” Tsumugi gasps, her hands flying to her mouth. 

Monokuma’s eyes sparkle. “As much as I really want too, I’m afraid that isn’t possible. I want as many murders as possible. If I just kill two people then that would be boring! Well, actually, now that I think about it…”

“Stop giving Monokuma ideas and shut up!” Miu roars. 

Maki grits her teeth. “Of course you would want a double execution.”

Kokichi’s head perks up. “Oh, and what’s that supposed to mean?”

Instead of responding, Maki instead steadily glares at Kokichi. 

“M-Maybe there was another way!” Himiko desperately proposes. “We don’t know if it was poison! A-And Akamatsu could’ve eaten something else with poison in it! Or drank something! M-Maybe she even poisoned herself!”

“She didn’t poison herself, okay!” Kaito huffs, throwing his hands up in the air. “She just fucking wouldn’t. I just don’t believe that-”

“And I don’t believe that Tenko is a murderer!” Himiko screams back. “She spent most of her time helping me inside my lab to cover up Angie’s crime scene!”

“But Chabashira said it herself, she did feed Akamatsu soup that Angie had given her,” Rantaro points out carefully. 

“Tenko really didn’t know it was poisoned,” Tenko wetly says. “Tenko really didn’t.”

“Then she would’ve noticed that Akamatsu had been poisoned!” Himiko argues. “Why would she leave her if-”

“Maybe it took awhile for the poison to kick in,” Kiyo suggests. “Not all poisons kill people straight away.”

“But what did Angie poison the soup with?” Tsumugi asks. “There isn’t much in the academy that she could’ve used.”

“Cleaning products from Tojo’s lab? Her own fucking paint? I don’t know!” Kaito throws out ideas wildly. “I just know it was Angie that poisoned the soup!”

Kirumi lowers her head in shame. “I hate to think that something from my own lab would’ve caused another student’s death.”

“It’s not your fault, Tojo,” Rantaro quickly reassures her. “I don’t think we’ll ever know what Angie poisoned the soup with.”

“Then Angie is Akamatsu’s killer!” Himiko declares. “I-It’s not Tenko!”

“Did Angie feed Akamatsu the soup? No,” Kokichi says with a yawn. “Just give it up already!”

“Well then, it looks like we’ve found our two killers,” Kiyo says, closing his eyes. “It seems that now we need to either vote for Yumeno or Chabashira-”

“H-How do we all know it was the soup that killed her?” Himiko asks. “M-Maybe it wasn’t even poison that-”

“The state of Akamatsu’s body suggests that she was poisoned,” Maki firmly responds. “All the evidence we do have all lines up to Chabashira being Akamatsu’s killer.”

“But what about Saihara’s hat?” Himiko points out. “That was found outside! That means Akamatsu must’ve gone out-”

“The first witness put it out there, duh,” Miu says. “They messed with the crime scene just to screw up the trial.”

“Then how come Saihara didn’t notice it when he went into the tunnels?!” Himiko quickly argues. “It was Momota who found it!”

“I didn’t see it,” Shuichi admits distantly. 

“So that means we’ve got our two killers!” Kokichi concludes, letting out a sigh of relief.

“Now we just need to figure out who died first,” Rantaro says in a sombre tone. “Only then we can vote for the correct person.”

“Well, isn’t it obvious?” Kokichi raises an eyebrow. “Chabashira had gave Akamastu the soup before she helped Yumeno. It was probably Akamatsu who died first!”

“N-No!” Himiko shakes her head. “It had to have been Angie!”

“And why is that?” Kiyo asks. 

“B-Because!” Himiko looks around the room. “Angie’s death was quicker than Akamatsu’s! If the poison took ages to kick in then Akamatsu probably took ages to die! Angie died straight away! I was there when she died!”

“And no one was there when Akamatsu died,” Maki mutters. 

“Can I have everyone’s attention for a moment?” Kirumi suddenly requests. “I’ve just remembered something.”

Kiyo nods. “The floor is all yours.”

“Thank you,” Kirumi tightly smiles. “I have just remembered something that I saw inside of Yumeno’s lab whilst I was investigating it. Inside of Yumeno’s box of swords, there was a bloody katana inside of it.”

“Oh yeah,” Rantaro hums. “I remember seeing that. I’m still confused why that was in there.”

“Didn’t Yumeno say that she washed all of her swords?” Miu tilts her head to the side. “Why the hell would she leave that one out?”

Kirumi puts a hand to her chin. “I was thinking about that too. I am certain that Chabashira did a thorough job of sorting out Yumeno’s lab for her so I don’t think that she would’ve forgotten about a sword, let alone one that wasn’t even supposed to be inside of Yumeno’s lab in the first place.”

“It should’ve been inside of Shinguji’s,” Maki says. 

“Yet it wasn’t,” Kirumi says. “Which leads me to believe that someone else had been inside of Yumeno’s lab other than Chabashira and Yumeno.”

“Y-You mean that someone else other than Yumeno or Chabashira had been inside of the lab and saw Angie?” Kaito splutters. “Seriously?!”

“It must’ve been whoever had messed up Akamatsu’s crime scene,” Maki says. “The mastermind.”

“They must’ve been pissed when they saw Angie had been killed too!” Miu smirks. 

Tsumugi blinks. “So that’s two people who didn’t alert anyone about Angie’s body?”

“Are you stupid?” Miu scolds. “Do you really think that either Chabashira or the mastermind would’ve ran around telling everyone that Angie had been killed?”

“Perhaps the mastermind since they’re the one who wants this game,” Kirumi suggests.

“Tsk, whatever.”

“Yeah but, the body discovery went off when both Shirogane and Shinguji saw the body,” Kaito suddenly says. “So doesn’t that mean one of them is-”

“Okay, time's up!” Monokuma loudly announces. 

“Wait, what?!” Miu cries. “But we haven’t-”

“This class trial has gone on for so long and my feet are starting to hurt from sitting around for so long!” Monokuma complains. 

“Why would your feet hurt?” Kirumi wonders. 

Maki glares. “We still haven’t figured out who-”

Dismissively, Monokuma waves his paw. “Do you really think I care? I’m going to get an execution out of this one way or another. I’ve never actually gotten to execute so many people before in one go! Do me a favour and get the wrong vote!”

“No!” Rantaro retorts, trying to remain calm. If everyone starts to panic now, there’s no way they’ll find the first killer in time. 

“Then I’d hurry it up then!” Monokuma says, leaning back into his cushioned chair. “Time’s ticking!”

“O-Okay, then! So, the fucking katana!” Miu starts. 

“I presume the first witness for Akamatsu’s murder used it to stab Akamatsu with and then put the sword inside of Yumeno’s lab,” Kirumi says. 

“So it would confuse us,” Maki concludes. “Now that I think about it, it’s so obvious.”

“So Kaede wasn’t actually alive when she was stabbed?” Kaito blinks. “I mean, I guess that’s better than nothing.”

“She’s still dead though,” Kokichi points out, smiling brightly.

Shuichi shakes his head, drooping. “Poison is still such a painful way to go. It’s obvious Akamatsu didn’t die straight away and even when she was dying, she was still trying the tunnels for all of us.”

Kiyo sighs. “We still have no idea who died first. Whilst Yumeno had seen Angie die, Chabashira wasn’t down in the tunnels to witness Akamatsu’s death.”

“So Akamatsu could’ve died before Chabashira even reached Yumeno’s lab,” Tsumugi says. 

“Or she could’ve died after Chabashira reached Yumeno’s lab,” Rantaro adds. “There really is no way to say.”

“Could we not presume that it was Akamatsu who died first?” Kiyo suggests. “The first witness would’ve had to have waited until Yumeno and Chabashira were done sorting out the lab before they hid the katana. They must’ve known that another murder had occured.”

“That...does make sense,” Maki agrees. “The only thing out of the place inside Yumeno’s lab is the kanata.”

“Everything is out of place in the tunnels!” Miu points out. 

“But we’re also dealing with the mastermind, who has an obvious advantage over us,” Rantaro explains. “Monokuma or someone would’ve had to have told them when both Akamatsu and Angie died. They didn’t sabotage both crime scenes at random, they must’ve known what they were doing when they put the katana into the lab.”

“They also kept the blood on it,” Kirumi says. “They saw that all the other swords had been wiped and yet kept the katana clean for some reason.”

“It’s because the katana is linked to Akamatsu’s crime scene,” Maki says. “It wasn’t used during the murder but Akamatsu had been stabbed with it. However, the katana had also been moved into Yumeno’s lab after it had been cleaned.”

“B-But what if it had been inside my lab whilst I was cleaning?!” Himiko wildly suggests. “I saw it-”

“Liar,” Kokichi bites out. 

Himiko flushes. “But-”

“You should be grateful, Yumeno,” Kokichi groans loudly. “From the looks of things, you’re not the one who is gonna get murdered.”

Tenko’s head lifts up. “T-That’s...right.”

“You’re not giving up, are you?!” Himiko turns around, leaning over her podium so she can get a clear look of Tenko. “You fought for me so-”

“Tenko thinks she likes how everything is turning out,” Tenko admits. “Tenko is appalled that it was her who killed Akamatsu but she also doesn’t want Yumeno to get killed for a crime she never meant to commit.”

“You didn’t mean to kill Akamatsu either!” Himiko argues. “So fight back! I want you to fight back!”

“Where is all this emotion coming from?” Kiyo ponders. 

Tenko shakes her head. “Tenko doesn’t think she can, Yumeno. Tenko thinks that we should move onto voting-”

“I can’t let you!” Himiko cries.

Rantaro sadly watches the two girls look at each other. Tenko gazes at Himiko with what can only be described as adoration. Love. On the other hand, Himiko looks furious. Her face is redder than her hair, her eyes are wide and her mouth moves quickly as she argues and argues and argues. 

Still, the trial must come to an end. 

_Argument Armament! Start!_

“We can’t vote for Tenko!”

“We haven’t figured out who really died first!”

“So what if we found the katana inside of my lab?”

“Even I could’ve put it there!”

“Akamatsu took such a long time to die from the poison!”

“Angie died straight away!”

“There’s only one person who is truly guilty!”

**“And that’s me!”**

_Break!_

Everyone is silent as Tenko opens her mouth. 

“Yumeno, that’s wrong. We’re...both of us are guilty. Tenko hates that this has happened but she’ll also do whatever she can so you don’t have to face a punishment. Tenko knows how scared you are of them so Tenko-”

“I don’t want you to die either!” Himiko yells. “I’ve always thought you were a-annoying and from the f-first day here, y-you just kept following me a-around! I-It was so i-irritating! I wanted to hate you b-but you made me feel s-safe! I’ve always b-been scared of showing my e-emotions but then you...you showed me that it’s o-okay! You’re the most emotional person I-I’ve ever met but I think that’s okay. But now...now y-you want t-to leave me!”

“That’s wrong!” Tenko insists. “Tenko doesn’t want to leave you! All Tenko ever wanted to do was protect you, Yumeno! Tenko thinks you are so, so amazing and she’s so proud of you! Tenko is so sorry that she made you lie through this trial but Tenko would do anything for you!”

“Like get the entire class killed?” Kokichi points out.

Tenko growls at him. “Tenko had no choice!”

“But what changed?” Kirumi asks. 

“After Tenko realised that she had killed Akamatsu, she knew that she could still save Yumeno and everyone else! Tenko likes that outcome so much more,” Tenko admits. “So please, everyone should vote for Tenko.”

“Don’t!” Himiko fights back. “B-Because if we’re wrong-”

A look of realisation pastes itself onto Tenko’s face. “Then only Tenko will leave…”

“But we don’t have time to figure out who died first!” Kaito stresses. “Fuck!”

“Saihara, you’re smart!” Kokichi seems completely unfazed. “What should we do? Do you want to get justice for your girlfriend? Aren’t you super mad at Chabashira for killing Akamatsu?”

Shuichi blinks. “Mad?”

“Yeah!” Kokichi pumps his fists. “It’s likely that Akamatsu died first. Isn’t that what you want? If Akamatsu died second, then her death would’ve been all for nothing!”

“Stop being manipulative!” Kaito hisses. “You know that we don’t know who to vote for!”

“And your time is running out!” Monokuma taps on his wrist.

“Um, we could always have a split vote,” Tsumugi suggests. “One half of us can vote for Yumeno and the other half can vote for Chabashira.”

“That wouldn’t work,” Maki points out. “There’s eleven of us.”

Tenko’s eyes light up. “Actually, Tenko thinks that is a great idea!”

“You...do?” Maki raises an eyebrow. 

“Um, Tenko really wants everyone to trust her on this because she really thinks she knows who died first,” Tenko admits. “So, Tenko would really like it if Saihara, Momota, Harukawa, Tojo and Yumeno voted for her. Shirogane, Shinguji, Iruma, Amami and Ouma need to vote for Yumeno!”

“Are you that dumb?” Miu tuts. “You’ve forgotten about yourself you idiot!”

“Ah, that’s where Tenko really needs everyone to trust her right now!” Tenko smiles. “Tenko knows who she is voting for!”

“You’re gonna vote for someone else, right?” Himiko asks. “So that the vote remains fair?”

“That’s right!” Tenko agrees happily. “So, we’re ready to vote now, Monokuma!”

“But why should we trust you with the deciding vote?” Kiyo asks. “You could very well betray the group for one last time and vote wrongly to keep Yumeno alive. You’ve already tried to mess up the trial once before.”

“Tenko promises she won’t, not anymore,” Tenko says. “But it’s very important that it’s Tenko who gets the deciding vote!”

“But-” Kirumi is cut off. 

“Very well then!” Monokuma sighs with relief. “I am shaking with excitement! Everyone get your voting fingers ready and let’s get down to business!”

Rantaro’s podium lights up and he looks down at all the faces. He wonders if everyone else has trusted Chabashira’s plan as he presses down on Himiko’s face. His screen flickers to black as his vote gets submitted. He glances around the room as everyone else presses their screen too. He catches Himiko wipe her eyes as she clicks down on presumably Tenko’s face. 

What a mess.

“Are you all done?” Monokuma asks. “Have you all voted?!”

“Well, duh,” Miu groans. “Hurry up and get on with the results! I swear if that bitch has backstabbed us!”

Silently, Monokuma reads over the results on his own private screen. 

“Did it take this long last time?” Kaito asks. 

“I don’t think so,” Kirumi frowns. “Whatever is taking Monokuma so long?”

“Puhuhu. Puhuhuhuhuhu!”

“What on earth is he laughing about?” Kiyo narrows his eyes. “His behaviour is concerning me.”

“It’s freaking me the fuck out!” Miu admits. “Whatever he’s taking, I hope he has spare!”

“Chabashira!” Himiko hops down from her podium and runs to the taller girl. “Who did you vote for?”

“Tenko-”

“Ahahaha!” Monokuma holds his stomach as his gavel drops from his paws. “Clever, very clever, Chabashira!”

“Daddy?” Monophanie looks up at her father with fearful eyes. “What’s happened?”

Kokichi puts his hands behind his head. “Wow, what did you do to break Monokuma, Chabashira? This is amazing!”

“I’m not broken!” Monokuma snaps. “Just, beary, beary amused.”

“Can we just see the votes please?” Tsumugi asks with a sigh. “I really hope that we didn’t mess up.”

“Well, if we did, we can always come back to haunt Chabashira,” Kiyo says thoughtfully. “I’ll make sure to bring sister and all her friends too.”

“How many friends does your dead sister have?” Miu asks. 

Kiyo frowns. “If you must know, currently around eighty seven.”

“That many?!” Kaito’s eyes widen. “Man, she must’ve been popular when she was alive.”

Kiyo shrugs. “I suppose.”

“Currently?” Kokichi says incredulously. 

He’s promptly ignored. 

“Well, I suppose I can show you all the votes,” Monokuma announces. 

A screen slowly lowers itself and everyone turns to stare at it desperately, praying that they were right. Praying that they haven’t messed up. Praying that they get to live another day. Praying that they got justice for Kaede and even Angie. 

Rantaro closes his eyes when the screen flickers to life but soon forces himself to face reality. He looks at the screen. Both Himiko’s and Tenko’s face are lit up and as Tenko had requested, both of the faces have five marks next to them. Then, Rantaro looks at the board to see who Tenko had voted for. Clearly, she hadn’t voted for herself or Himiko as they both have an equal number of tallies next to their faces. However, as Rantaro looks around the board…

“There’s only ten votes,” Kirumi quickly realises. 

“Did somebody not vote?” Tsumugi timidly asks, glancing around the room. “Because, um, Monokuma made it clear what would happen if you didn’t vote.”

“Well I fucking voted!” Miu easily answers. “No way I’m dying here!”

“Me too,” Kaito agrees. “I voted for Chabashira, like she said!”

Tenko smiles. “Tenko is really grateful that you all followed her instructions.”

“Huh?” Rantaro feels like he’s deflating. “It was you who didn’t vote, Chabashira?”

“That’s right!” Tenko happily reveals. How can she look so...joyful? She’s just thrown her life away. “Tenko is so happy that you all followed her plan!”

“Chabashira, why didn’t you vote?!” Kaito asks. “You realise that Monokuma is gonna-”

“Actually, Tenko would like to ask Monokuma something,” Tenko admits, turning to the black and white bear. “Tenko has a proposal.”

“Oh?” Monokuma smiles wide. “I suppose I’ll hear it.”

“Tenko knows she’s going to get punished because she didn’t vote but Tenko did that on purpose. You see, Tenko thinks that what you made the mastermind do to the crime scenes was really unfair and we could’ve failed the trial because of that. It’s unfair that we had a huge disadvantage throughout the trial. You also made us finish this trial before we could even figure out who died first! So Tenko has decided that you don’t get to choose who dies, Tenko does! And Tenko has chosen herself!”

“You think that you get to decide?” Monokuma taunts. 

Tenko takes a firm step forward. “Yes, Tenko does. Tenko didn’t vote so you have to kill Tenko. It wouldn’t make sense for you to kill two people because you said that Akamatsu’s and Angie’s murders were first come, first served. Tenko decided that she gets to die so nobody else has too.”

Monokuma’s grin grows. “But punishments are different to executions! The votes have been equally split! I could very easily have the exisals punish you and execute Yumeno myself! Did you not think about that?”

“Tenko did,” Tenko reveals, matching Monokuma’s stare, “but Tenko is also confident that Akamatsu died first. She’s also offered herself up to be executed so Tenko thinks Monokuma would be very stupid to not take her up on her offer.”

“Hmm,” Monokuma pauses. 

“N-No!” Himiko pushes her way to the front of the group. “You need to reveal who the first murderer is! If it was me then-”

“Tenko will fight so you don’t have to die,” Tenko firmly says, putting her hands on Himiko’s shoulders. She squeezes them softly. “Tenko is sorry that she’s done this but Tenko thinks that watching you go through a punishment would be so much worse than me going through one.”

“But then I-I’ll have to watch y-you,” Himiko hiccups. “A-And I don’t w-want-”

“You don’t have to watch,” Tenko promises. “Tenko won’t be mad if you walked out of the trial room right now. In fact, Tenko would be really happy if the last thing she sees is Yumeno safe away from any danger.”

“Hey! I haven’t decided what’s going on yet!” Monokuma snaps. “So-”

“Tenko has already said that she’s the one getting punished,” Tenko snaps back. “So you better punish her or Tenko will have to use her neo-aikido on you!”

“N-Neo-aikido?!” Monokuma trembles. “B-But it’s against the rules to harm me!”

“Tenko will break all the rules if it means that she’s the one who gets punished!” Tenko responds boldly. “Tenko will not hesitate!”

“To see such a bold act of sacrifice to save the one she loves,” Kiyo’s face turns red. “It’s so beautiful!”

Monokuma sweats. “But the results! I can’t just ignore them!”

“Tenko demands that you make an exception,” Tenko says. “You messed with our trial so it’s only fair that Tenko gets to choose who dies between her and Yumeno! We’re both the killers, correct?”

“Well, yes-”

“So we were correct,” Kaito says. "Tsk!"

“And only one of us gets to be punished! Tenko has already given herself up so Tenko thinks that you don’t have to tell everyone the results and let Tenko get punished!”

“W-Wait a second!” Shuichi carefully makes his way to the front of the crowd. “But what about Akamatsu! I-I need to know that she didn’t die for no reason!”

“A-Ah, Saihara,” Tenko holds onto her arm as she looks away. “Tenko is truly sorry that she killed Akamatsu. She really didn’t mean to do it. Tenko had so much respect for her and it’s horrible that she had to die. However, Tenko also needs to protect the living too. Tenko is so sorry that you lost Akamatsu but Tenko also doesn’t want to lose Yumeno so please, Saihara. Let me get punished. We don’t need to know who died first. Things might get dangerous if Monokuma reveals the results.”

Shuichi swallows heavily as his shoulders start to shake. “I know you never meant to kill Akamatsu but the thought that she just died for no reason...Chabashira I need to-”

Tenko warmly smiles as she reaches out for Shuichi’s hand, holding it gently. “Tenko promises that she’ll go and find Akamatsu and tell her how much you cared for her. Tenko also needs to apologise to her.”

“I’m sure Kaede will forgive you when you find her,” Kaito beams, slapping a hand on both Shuichi and Tenko’s shoulder. Tenko pulls a face and knocks the hand off. “But are you sure you want to go through with this, Chabashira?”

“Tenko made a promise that when she first woke up here, she was going to protect all of the girls! So, if Tenko is going to die then she wants to die protecting someone she really cares about. She also really needs to find Akamatsu, and Angie too. Even after everything, Tenko thinks that both of them really just wanted to look after the group,” Tenko says. “Just know that even after Tenko is gone, she’s going to be watching over the group, Tenko promises!”

Himiko darts up to Tenko, freely letting her cheeks get wet with her tears. “T-Tenko, you can’t leave! I don’t want you to leave! Y-You can run away!”

“Tenko doesn’t want to take any chances,” Tenko determinedly says. “So Tenko guesses this is goodbye.”

“Please don’t leave me,” Himiko’s voice gets muffled as she throws her arms around Tenko. “W-We can find out the real results and convince Monokuma not to punish you!”

“Too late!” Monokuma shouts. “I’ve already decided that Chabashira is getting punished! People love an emotional class trial and an even sadder punishment!”

Tenko softly knocks Himiko away from her. “Tenko wants to thank Yumeno for fighting so hard for her but Tenko thinks that this is for the best. Just remember that Tenko will always be watching over you!”

“W-Wait!”

But there’s no waiting for punishments. Tenko pushes Himiko away with a final smile as the metal chain snaps around her neck and drags her across the room towards her execution. 

“Let’s give it everything we’ve got!” Monokuma cries. “It’s punishment time!”

“No!” Himiko tries to chase after Tenko but is stopped when both Kaito and Kirumi firmly keep a hold of her, making sure that she isn’t harmed. As much as Himiko struggles, she isn’t allowed to head towards Tenko. 

Tenko is pulled towards her death and she embraces her last moments of life with open arms. Before she closes her eyes, she glances at Himiko once more and decides that everything is okay. 

All that’s left for Tenko to do now is to find Kaede and apologise. 

**Game Over**

**Tenko Chabashira has been found guilty**

**Time for punishment!**

Tenko arrives inside a room that is pitch black. She pulls herself up and wipes the dust from her skirt at the same time a bright light is shone on her. She lifts her arms up to block the light from blinding her eyes. However, another light is turned on followed by another one and another one. It is soon revealed that Tenko is on a stage and when she looks around, she spots lots of items used for magic tricks around her. 

She then hears the sound of doors opening and spots a large crowd of Monokumas run towards the seats in front of the stage. Each Monokuma takes a seat and eagerly wait for the show to start. When Tenko looks at the crowd once more, she notices that all of the Monokumas are female, all of them wearing bows and rather cheap looking makeup. 

The crowd goes wild when a new figure walks onto the stage. A pink and white Monokuma wearing a red cape and a top hat waves to the crowd as they stand at the centre of the stage. They take a deep bow before taking their hat off and holding it out in front of Tenko. 

Tenko blinks before putting her hand inside of the hat and quickly howls, pulling her hand out and revealing a pink and white small rabbit biting her hand. The crowd laughs as droplets of blood trickle onto the floor. The Monokuma yanks the rabbit from Tenko’s hand and leads her towards a new magic trick. She stops in front of a wheel and the crowd goes wild as the Monokuma straps Tenko up, making sure that she’s on the wheel properly. 

The pink Monokuma blindfolds themselves and the crowd starts to cheer as they start to throw long knives towards the wheel. Each knife sinks into the wooden wheel with a satisfying ‘thunk’. Tenko is safe. However, she turns pale as the wheel starts to spin and when the Monokuma picks up the next knife, they successfully manage to lodge it into Tenko’s hand. The next knife hits Tenko in the knee but falls to the ground. As the wheel becomes more bloodier, the crowd starts to get louder. 

Tenko is wobbly as she is unstrapped from the wheel, holding onto her injured hand as she is taken to the next trick. The Monokuma beams as she opens up the box for Tenko to get inside. Tenko’s head and legs poke out from the various holes the box has and her face turns a light purple as she spots the Monokuma pulls out a sharp looking saw. 

At this point, all Tenko can hear are the sounds of the female Monokumas cheering as the Monokuma brings the saw down and furiously starts to saw the box in half. However, much to Tenko’s surprise, she isn’t cut in half. She blinks when the box is split and wonders why she’s still alive. 

Then, everything happens at once. She sees a long string of colourful handkerchiefs in the Monokuma’s paws and they firmly tie them around Tenko’s neck. Before Tenko can even guess what is happening, she’s pulled out of the box and screams when her legs are scratched. She only manages to catch a glimpse of the box she’s about to be thrown into. She’s locked inside, unaware of the audience lining up with swords in their hands. One by one they slot the swords into the holes of the box until they are all filled. 

The crowd goes crazy as blood starts to ooze from the crack at the bottom of the door. 

\---

Back inside the trial room, Himiko falls to her knees. 

“Wow, another successful class trial!” Monokuma cooes. “I’m so proud of you all! You certainly make my job fun!”

“That punishment,” Kirumi murmurs. “That wasn’t for Chabashira, was it?”

“Oh, you all noticed?” Monokuma grins. “If I had it my way, Chabashira would still be alive but she had to go and pull that little stunt with the votes. Of course, I would’ve just let my children sort her out and then have the punishment but that would mean four deaths in one go! My poor little heart wouldn’t have taken it!”

“So Chabashira was punished for no reason? It was Angie who had been killed first?” Kaito angrily points out. “That’s-”

“Momota, please be quiet,” Shuichi says in a hushed voice. 

“Huh?”

On the floor, Himiko’s shoulders jolt up and down as her hands are pressed to her mouth. She attempts to smother the sounds of her sobs but it’s just too obvious. Her tears messily land on the floor one after another as she trembles in a heap.

Rantaro feels awful. He really can’t imagine what Himiko is going through right now. He feels like he should comfort her but Shuichi is already on the floor beside her, rubbing her back carefully. Rantaro does notice, however, that Shuichi has tucked his hat into his pocket. Maybe he did it out of respect? 

“You killed an innocent person,” Kiyo says. “How are we supposed to participate in a game where the rules don’t matter?”

“She wasn’t innocent! She broke one of the rules!” Monokuma gladly explains. “It’s her fault alone that she’s dead!”

“But she was the second killer, wasn’t she?” Miu snaps. “So why the fuck-”

“Blah, blah, blah! Can you all stop complaining for one second!” Monokuma sighs, rubbing his head. “You’re all giving me a headache.”

“Yeah guys!” Kokichi pokes his tongue out. “Who cares about a game being fair! As long as it’s fun then do the rules really matter?”

“See! This guy gets it!” Monokuma proudly says. 

“No, he’s just sick,” Maki hisses. 

Kokichi winks at her. “Well, I’d love to sit around and cry with the rest of you but I have things I need to do. Bye bye!”

He nonchalantly strolls to the elevator and rides them back up on his own. Rantaro guesses that he’s probably going to go to the two crime scenes before they’re cleaned up and collect the leftover evidence.

Kirumi digs into a hidden pocket of hers and pulls out a packet of tissues, offering one kindly to Himiko. It takes a moment for the mage to realise that she’s being offered a tissue but she eventually plucks it from Kirumi’s eyes and tries to wipe her eyes with it. It becomes drenched and useless almost instantaneously. 

“Perhaps we should move somewhere more comfortable to mourn,” Kiyo suggests. “I think the trial room is the last place everyone wants to be right now.” 

“Yeah, but,” Kaito awkwardly gestures towards the floor. “Yumeno is sort of still crying right now.” 

“I-I’ll stay with her!” Tsumugi offers, kneeling on the floor. She tucks a strand of her long blue hair behind her ears and pushes her glasses so that they don’t fall off her nose. “If everyone else wants to leave then that’s okay. I’ll keep Yumeno company until she’s ready to leave.”

“Well,” Kirumi hesitates. “Just make sure she doesn’t stay down here for too long. I doubt this place will help her much right now.”

“Don’t worry!” Tsumugi smiles. “I know what I’m doing!”

Monokuma looks amused as the rest of the students start to pile up inside of the elevator. Rantaro realises that there’s only seven of them inside. The elevator seems a lot more empty now and Rantaro doubts it’ll feel any more full even if Himiko, Tsumugi and Kokichi were inside. He notices that everyone else is wearing the same forlorn expression as the elevator slowly makes its way up. 

Outside, Rantaro sees the start up a sunrise. It’s a new day. The sky glows a golden orange and for a moment, everything seems normal. But it’s not. It really isn’t. 

He takes a seat on the bench outside of the dormitories, wondering if it’s worth going to bed or staying up for the day. Rantaro can’t lie, he doesn’t feel tired. Whilst he does have a headache, he feels wide awake and he doubts that he’ll be able to sleep after witnessing such a gruesome murder. 

Rantaro watches as Kiyo heads back to his room, followed by Miu. Perhaps he should follow them and have a nap. That should get rid of his headache. 

His eyes then trail over to Kaito and Shuichi. They’re sat on the picnic bench together. He watches Kaito talk and Rantaro wonders if Shuichi is even listening. Kaito pulls a face and sighs, carefully putting a hand on the detective’s shoulder and squeezing. Kaito talks again and from the way his mouth moves, it’s a lot quieter this time. 

Then, Shuichi makes this horrible sound and before Rantaro can even guess what Kaito said, Shuichi is sobbing. Rantaro wonders if he should go over and see if he could help but then Kaito moves from his place on the opposite bench to sit next to Shuichi and this time wraps his arm around his shoulders. Rantaro decides that Kaito is doing a good job on his own and stands up. 

“Can I have a word with you?”

Maki fiddles with the red scrunchie that she still has on her wrist. Whilst she doesn’t look upset, she does look concerned. 

“One of the monokubs came up and said that they’re opening the dining hall up early. Tojo is making tea if you want to join me,” Maki offers, refusing to look him in the eye. 

Rantaro nods. Tea sounds nice. “Of course, Harukawa.”

They end up deciding to sit outside on the balcony since the weather is so beautiful. Kirumi offers to bring their tea outside for them and leaves the back dining room door open so that she can be seen inside of the kitchen. Maki had said to leave the door open just in case. It seems like she is on edge. 

“At least we don’t have to stay in the tunnels anymore,” Maki comments, leaning back in her chair. She looks exhausted. 

“Have you been sleeping well?” Rantaro asks. 

“Not really,” Maki admits. “Even though I’m used to living in worse conditions I guess I just haven’t been able to sleep.”

“That’s understandable,” Rantaro responds. He clears his throat. “So, um, why did you want to meet out here?”

“I guess I just didn’t want to be alone,” Maki says. “And you seemed like the best choice to hang out with.”

Rantaro blinks. “What about Momota?”

Maki scowls and looks away, hiding her face. “H-He’s busy right now with Saihara. I didn’t want to interrupt him.”

“Well I’m honoured I’m so high up on your list,” Rantaro smiles. 

“Don’t make things awkward,” Maki says, but there’s a hint of a smile on her face and Rantaro counts that as a win. 

They accept the tea that Kirumi makes for them and Rantaro asks if she would like to join them. 

“As much as I want to,” Kirumi says with a tight smile, “I think I would rather busy myself with something else right now. It’s a kind offer but I think I shall start to prepare for breakfast. If you both need anything, I shall be inside of the dining hall.”

Kirumi bows before hastily making her way back inside.

“I hope she’s okay,” Rantaro says as he picks up one of the teacups and blows on the tea. 

Maki copies him. “She could be upset that one of her cleaning products could’ve caused Akamatsu’s death.”

“Ah,” Rantaro pauses. He catches a glimpse of his reflection in his tea. He looks like a mess. His hair is a mess from how much he’s been running his hands through it. He has bags under his eyes and he looks like he could do with a hundred year nap. Rantaro sighs and sips on his tea. 

“Amami,” Maki suddenly says. “How do you think Momota is doing?”

“Momota?” Rantaro blinks. “Well, I think he’s probably upset about Akamatsu but-”

“No, not about that,” Maki puts her cup down. “I mean, like, health wise. Do you think he’s actually okay?”

“He’s sick, isn’t he?” Rantaro says. He’s never really thought about it. He knows that Kaito has been hiding something but with the way things have been lately, he hasn’t really been able to give Kaito much thought. Still, Rantaro knows that hacking up blood probably isn’t healthy. “You’ve been with him a lot recently, do you think he’s okay?”

“I don’t know,” Maki frowns. She runs a thumb over the edge of the teacup. “But I don’t think he’s going to last any longer here without some help. There’s no medicine to help him and I doubt that Monokuma is going to hand any over.”

Rantaro grimaces. “That’s...a problem.”

“You think?” Maki snaps. She only manages to glare for a second before she sighs. “Sorry.”

“It’s fine.”

“It doesn’t help that Momota is a massive idiot,” Maki continues. “He says he’s fine but it’s not normal to be coughing up as much blood as he does. He tries to make me open up about my problems but he always hides his. He’s so unfair.”

“That’s Momota for you,” Rantaro says, trying to lighten the mood.

Maki stares into her cup of tea. “I don’t want to scare you but we need to leave as soon as possible. I don’t know how long Momota has left and I refuse to sit around.”

Rantaro opens and closes his mouth. He can’t just tell her that he doesn’t know how to leave. He also knows that Maki has probably realised that the tunnels are a bust, especially since Kaede had spent hours trying to get through them with no success. But he understands why she is so worried, coughing up blood really isn’t healthy. If Kaito is as bad as Maki is implying, then they need to hurry up and find a way out. 

“If only I had some evidence to prove that they’re the mastermind,” Maki suddenly says. “Then I could end everything right now.”

Rantaro startles. “You think you know who the mastermind is?”

“Maybe,” Maki admits. “I just don’t want to be hasty. I was wrong with Akamatsu and…”

She looks away, drumming her fingers against the table. 

“Do you feel regret, Harukawa?” Rantaro asks. 

Rantaro’s answer is only silence but deep down, he thinks he knows how Maki is feeling. She never got to apologise to Kaede before she died. 

“I just need some evidence,” Maki answers. “If they so much as say anything suspicious, they’re dead. Momota doesn’t have much time left and if I can end this game as soon as possible, the better.”

“Just don’t do anything hasty,” Rantaro quickly says, feeling slightly alarmed. “Because last time-”

“I know what happened last time. I made a mistake. I’m not about to make another one.”

Maki turns back to her cup of tea. Steam rises from the hot liquid. 

“I know you aren’t the bad guy here,” Rantaro says. “But don’t you think there might be a more peaceful way to end the game? Killing the mastermind might be a little extreme. We could just capture them. Monokuma can’t run this game successfully if he doesn’t have someone working for him.”

With a sigh, Maki shrugs. “The mastermind is currently responsible for six deaths. Don’t you think that it’s only fair that they get what they deserve?”

Rantaro doesn’t know how to answer that question. He knows that he and Maki have completely different ways of thinking. She’s an assassin. He’s not. She’s grown up killing people. Death is something that’s natural to her. He’s grown up looking after his twelve sisters and doing his best for his family. Looking out for people is something that’s natural to him. 

Maki finishes her cup of tea. “I’m going to make sure that Momota doesn’t push himself. I’ll see you later.”

“See you later too, Harukawa.”

He watches her leave, boldly heading back to the dormitories with a straight face. For a moment, Rantaro wonders what it would be like to be as strong as Maki. Then, he doesn’t. He doesn’t want to imagine what she had to go through for her to act this way and he thinks that maybe he’s more of the lucky one out of the two. 

Rantaro carries the two teacups back inside and quickly washes them in the sink whilst Kirumi cooks behind him. She thanks him as he leaves and tells him that she’ll bring his breakfast to his room. Maybe she has also realised that no one will probably want to come out of their rooms today. 

On his way back to the dormitories, he spots Tsumugi and Himiko climbing up the steps. Tsumugi has a kind hand on Himiko’s shoulder and the mage looks drained. Rantaro heads towards the two. 

“Amami!” Tsumugi looks pleased that he’s here. “How are you doing?”

“I’m okay, thank you,” Rantaro awkwardly answers. He’s looking at Himiko, who looks at the ground. 

Tsumugi’s smile turns sad. “Ah, I managed to convince her to go to bed for a bit but...I don’t think I’m good at looking after people.”

“You’re doing fine,” Rantaro answers honestly. “Do you want me to walk you both to the dormitories?”

“They’re right in front of us!” Tsumugi laughs airily. “But, um, yeah. Please.”

He stays on Himiko’s other side as they walk through the glass doors. Tsumugi and Rantaro both walk Himiko up to her bedroom door. Rantaro makes sure to stand directly in front of Himiko so she isn’t tempted to look around and see Tenko’s portrait above her door. 

“Do you want one of us to stay with you for a bit?” Tsumugi asks. “I’ll stay with you if you want and I’m sure Amami will if you ask him!”

Rantaro feels that it would be inappropriate to point out that he’s a male. He doesn’t want to intrude on Himiko but pointing out he’s a male going into a female’s room, he thinks that Himiko might link that back to Tenko and how the aikido master would’ve been angry at the proposal. 

Instead, Himiko shrugs and Rantaro thinks that maybe all the energy has been zapped out of her. 

Tsumugi ends up having to open up Himiko’s bedroom door. She quickly shoves her hand into Himiko’s pocket and pulling the key out. The three enter Himiko’s bedroom, which is pleasantly clean. 

Himiko instantly climbs into her bed and rolls onto her side so no one has to look at her. Rantaro wonders if she’s gone straight to sleep or if she just doesn’t want to face people right now. He thinks he understands her and respects her choice and heads for the couch and sits down on it next to Tsumugi. 

She takes her glasses off and places them onto the coffee table. Tsumugi then looks at the couch and then Rantaro before deciding that Rantaro’s shoulder would be a good place for her to put her head on. 

“This is okay, right?” Tsumugi asks as she makes herself comfortable. “Because I can move-”

“It’s fine,” Rantaro reassures her. He doesn’t want to make things awkward but he also genuinely doesn’t mind. He understands that everyone is tense and stressed right now. 

He can feel his eyelids grow heavy. 

“Amami?” Tsumugi says suddenly. “I’m scared.”

“I think we all are,” Rantaro admits quietly, hoping that Himiko is asleep at this point. 

“That’s true but,” Tsumugi glances back at Himiko’s bed before clearing her throat. Her voice gets quieter. “There’s not that many of us left now, is there?”

There’s only ten of the group left now. First Kiibo, then Gonta, then Ryoma, then Angie, then Kaede and now Tenko. Plus, now knowing that Kaito may not have that long…

“We just have to stay united,” Rantaro answers softly. 

“Maybe that’ll be easier now that-” Tsumugi cuts herself off. “Ah, maybe I shouldn’t say that….”

Rantaro closes his eyes. “The rest of us can still leave together. We just need to find another way. If we can all just hold out a little longer.”

“That’s right,” Tsumugi hums. She also closes her eyes. “I’m sure we can all leave together if we can try.”

Maybe they’re both aware that they’re both probably lying to themselves but for a moment, neither of them care. If a lie can keep them alive for just a little longer… 

then so be it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> There's a couple of things I want to say
> 
> 1\. The argument armament was between Tenko and Himiko.  
> 2\. There was no lies during the trial from Rantaro as there was quite a few lies told by other characters.  
> 3\. Monokuma decided to kill Tenko instead of Himiko because he didn't want a double murder and a double punishment. Angie did die first but since Monokuma had made up the crime scene, he figured it was only fair to let Tenko get away with her plan. The punishment had been created before hand so basically, Tenko experienced Himiko's punishment and not her own.   
> 4\. I don't how accurate anything murder wise is in the trials. With Kaede and the poison, it took her a while to die from it because the soup had only been lightly poisoned so therefore, it took her a while to pass from it. No one in the story will find out what the soup had been poisoned with. 
> 
> Thank you for reading!


	19. Chapter 19

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry if there's any mistakes!
> 
> I didn't mean to take this long to update. I'm perhaps halfway through the next chapter but I didn't want to post this one until I was satisfied with where the next chapter was going. 
> 
> Thank you for reading!

“Are you sure I can’t get you anything, Yumeno?”

Rantaro slowly blinks awake. 

“...I really can’t help you if you don’t respond, you know? I just want to help.”

“Go away.”

“Oh, um, o-okay.”

He turns his head and sees Tsumugi head towards a door. For a moment, he wonders why Tsumugi is in his bedroom and then he stops. This room doesn’t look like his. He looks around and spots a small figure on a bed, a blanket covering their body. He also sees a tall hat on the floor next to a pair of brown boots. 

That’s right. He’s in Himiko’s bedroom. 

However, from the sounds of things, the mage isn’t in a good mood. Rantaro supposes that she has no good reason to actually be happy right now considering what had happened a couple of hours ago. Still, he hopes that she’s going to be okay. 

Rantaro follows Tsumugi out of Himiko’s bedroom and the cosplayer gently closes the door behind her. Through the glass of the dormitories, the sun shines brightly. It’s no longer the early morning anymore and instead a bright and sunny afternoon. Rantaro yawns as he rubs his eyes, attempting to remove all of the sleep from them. 

“Good afternoon, Amami,” Tsumugi says softly. She’s clearly making an attempt to keep her voice down. “Um, I don’t know if anyone else is awake or not so maybe we should go somewhere else for now.”

“Good idea.”

She ends up taking him to the dining room, holding onto his hand the entire way. Rantaro watches Tsumugi the entire time, who remains only a couple of steps in front of him the entire time so they can still hold hands. She only looks back at him once and when she does, she flushes as she catches him watching but ends up smiling as they pass the bathrooms. 

Tsumugi pushes open one of the doors with extreme enthusiasm but ends up merely blinking at the empty room. The table is completely empty, lacking any plates and cutlery. There’s still sixteen chairs tucked under the table, although Rantaro guesses now they really don’t need that many. 

“Where is everyone?” Tsumugi glances around the room. “Shouldn’t they all be in here? This is what we usually do everyday, right? Meet inside the dining room and wait for Monokuma to pop out?”

“Last time only four people showed up,” Rantaro reminds her. “And there had only been one murder.”

“Oh,” Tsumugi pauses. “But still! Maybe we should just make everyone some lunch! I know Yumeno said that she didn’t want anything but she’ll just get sick if she lies around all day!”

Rantaro peers into the kitchen. It’s mostly empty, apart from the ten plates of food that have been covered with metal bowls. He lifts each bowl up to look at the separate meals that he can only guess have been made by Kirumi. He wonders where she is right now. 

“They’re cold,” Tsumugi says as she pokes one of the plates. 

“We can always reheat them-”

“Ah, but reheated food always tastes disgusting!” Tsumugi replies as she picks up one of the plates and scrapes the food into the bin. “So we should make everyone something from scratch!”

“Tojo put a lot of work into these,” Rantaro quietly says, rescuing one of the plates and holding it to his chest. “I’d feel rude if-”

“Angie poisoned Akamatsu, right?” Tsumugi spins around with an empty plate and a fork in her hand. “So shouldn’t we be more careful about everything in the kitchen? What if everything has been tainted with poison? Oh! I know!”

Rantaro steps out of the way as Tsumugi dramatically pushes all of the plates into the bin and he listens to them break one by one, smashing into tiny pieces. She then happily plucks the plate from his hand and drops it into the bin with all the rest of the dinnerware. He thinks he should stop her when she reaches into all of the other cupboards and starts throwing them into the bin too. 

“Shirogane, I don’t think Monokuma-”

“Join me!” Tsumugi ignores him and pushes a glass cup into his hands. “I’m having so much fun!”

Rantaro watches as Tsumugi begins to throw everything into the bin and watches as the glass inside of it starts to rise higher and higher. At this point, he might as well throw the cup inside and when he does, Tsumugi claps her hands together. He notices that her shoulders are tense and that her smile perhaps looks a little more forced than it should be. However, he’s unable to do anything about it as she reaches the final plate and throws it into the bin too. 

“There! All clean!” Tsumugi smacks her hands together loudly. 

“But Monokuma-”

“Brought new stuff!”

The black and white bear pops out from behind the bin and looks around the kitchen. 

“Wow! You did a pretty good job destroying everything!” Monokuma proudly says. “I should be angry but I’m more impressed than anything! Is there something bothering you, Shirogane? I never would’ve guessed a plain girl like you would do something like this!”

“I’m just getting rid of all my stress!” Tsumugi tightly says. “But I’m feeling so much better now!”

“That’s great! This means you can put all of the new things away!” Monokuma responds and points to a pile of boxes that are on top of the dining room table. They were definitely not there before. How on earth were they put there without neither Tsumugi or Rantaro noticing?

“B-But-”

“Be grateful that I’m not punishing you for destroying the kitchen!” Monokuma shrugs. “I would have my children do this but I have no idea where they went!” 

Tsumugi wordlessly blinks at Monokuma as the bear walks away. 

There’s something tense in the air and Rantaro feels like he’s just witnessed something that he wasn’t supposed to. He clears his throat and tries to smile at Tsumugi but it’s sort of useless since she’s looking at the floor with a wobbly lip. She sniffs and walks past him to the dining room and picks up one of the boxes. Her legs start to shake as she walks back into the kitchen and drops the box onto the counter. 

“Shirogane, are you oka-”

“What a coincidence,” Tsumugi laughs but it sounds awfully fake. “It’s almost as if Monokuma knew what I was doing. I guess he can see everything that is going on though. But I have no idea why he’s watching such a plain girl like me.”

Rantaro silently helps Tsumugi open the cardboard box as she fails several times to peel the sellotape from it. The cardboard flaps spring open and inside the box, Rantaro can see stacks of brand new plates. They vary in colour, some of them being a pale green, some blue and some that are purple. 

“Hey,” Rantaro picks up one of the blue plates. “It’s the same colour as your hair!”

Tsumugi looks at the plate before snatching it out of his hands and throwing it into the bin. It shatters into hundreds of pieces, some of the even smaller bits flying from out of the bin and onto the floor. 

Once the kitchen goes completely quiet, Tsumugi starts crying. 

“I-I’m sorry,” she sobs. “I-I hope that you haven’t been hurt.”

“It’s fine,” Rantaro responds. He takes a step forward and stretches his arms. “Can I hug you?”

Tsumugi nods as she takes off her glasses so she can wipe her eyes, which currently look very red. She walks into his open arms and Rantaro very carefully put them around her and squeezes softly. He can feel the front of his shirt gets slightly damp as Tsumugi presses her face into his chest but he doesn’t mind, he can always change it later. He puts one hand on top of her head and instinctively strokes her hair. For a moment, he worries that Tsumugi thinks he’s treating her like a dog but she doesn’t seem to mind, which is good. 

She sniffs and pulls away, wiping her eyes with the edges of her blazer sleeves desperately. “I’m sorry, I don’t know what came over me.”

“It’s okay, really,” Rantaro reassures her. “If you need to talk or anything then I don’t mind.”

“Ah, it’s stupid really,” Tsumugi admits as she swallows. She turns to the cupboards for a cup but laughs wetly when her hand is met with air. “Ah…”

“I’ll go find the cups,” Rantaro says as he heads back to the pile of cardboard boxes, reading all of the labels until he finds the one that is marked with cups. He takes one out and he passes it to her. 

Tsumugi watches the water from the tap fall into her cup, swirling around and sliding against the sides of the glass. She takes a long sip and almost finishes the entire cup in one go, only stopping so she can let out a loud sigh of relief. “Sorry, I was really thirsty.”

Which is understandable since she was crying only a few moments ago. Rantaro nods. “You don’t need to keep apologising, you know? I’m not mad or anything.”

“I know, it’s just,” Tsumugi sighs. “Ah, sorr- ah! Um…”

Rantaro smiles. “How about we put away everything first then make some lunch for everyone? I don’t know about you but I’m pretty hungry.”

Tsumugi seems happy to do that as she starts to put away the plates quickly. She giggles as she pulls out a plate. “Amami, this is the same colour as your hair too!”

They set aside ten plates each and go through the food, which looks fresh and according to Monophanie who had appeared when they were hesitant to use the food, had been changed this morning. The duo work together to make a simple lunch, which slowly turns into a picnic of some sort. 

“We should do something nice, you know?” Tsumugi says as she fills up a pale pink bowl full of cherries. “Because we never really did anything for Kiibo when he died or when Gonta and Hoshi died. I think it would maybe cheer everyone up if we organised something. Maybe a party? Ah, but that would be a little inappropriate wouldn’t it?”

“Actually, it sounds like a lovely idea,” Rantaro argues. “I’m sure everyone we’ve lost so far would encourage us to have a party. Especially Chabashira and Akamatsu. They’d want us to have one as soon as possible.”

Tsumugi nods as she pushes the bowl of cherries to the side so she can reach another bowl. “Right! There’s always nice weather so maybe we should have a picnic outside? Maybe we can have one for tea! I’m sure it won’t be too difficult!”

“Sounds like a good plan,” Rantaro agrees, carrying a couple of plates through into the dining room. He places them all onto the table quietly and lifts his head up when the dining room door opens and he’s about to greet whoever is there but stops. 

“I’m in the dining room right?” Pause. “Fuck yeah! See, I’m getting better at getting around, aren’t I? I told you the gorgeous girl genius can do absolutely anything she wants to!”

Rantaro hides behind the door frame even though he really has no reason too and when Tsumugi raises an eyebrow at him, he puts a finger to his lips. 

Together, they watch as Miu takes a seat at the table and sighs loudly. “Fucking virgins always so desperate to establish dominance by killing each other. I’m glad Angie is gone though, you said she was insane, right?”

“Who is she talking too?” Tsumugi whispers. 

Rantaro shrugs. “I really don’t know.”

“But you’ll look out for me, right?” Pause. “Y-You don’t have to put it like that! I’ve already said I don’t fucking care, okay? Just keep me safe and shit.”

Miu absentmindedly slams her hand onto the table and moves it around until she finds the bowl of sliced apples. She chews on one thoughtfully. She puts a hand to her ear and she looks like she’s listening to something rather carefully. Then, Miu promptly chokes on her apple. 

“Hey, creeps! Stop watching me you shameless assholes!” Miu shouts and she turns her head so that she’s directly facing both Rantaro and Tsumugi. “A-Am I facing them?” Pause. “Fuck yeah! I mean, ahem! Say something!”

“Good afternoon, Iruma,” Tsumugi says hesitantly, stepping into the dining room. “Did you have a nice nap?”

“Of course I did!” Miu answers. “I used my invention where-”

“I don’t think you should continue,” Rantaro hurriedly says as he also steps into the dining room. 

Miu crumples, disappointed. “Yeah, yeah. Just because you’re a vanilla bitch. Wait, but doesn’t Shitguji like you? He’s into all that rope crap right? Huh.”

Tsumugi puts a hand to her mouth as she giggles whilst Rantaro sighs. “We’re not even dating…”

“Yeah, yeah,” Miu dismissively waves a hand. “So where is everyone? Not that I care or anything. Probably more danger in numbers or something…”

“Isn’t it safety?” Tsumugi corrects her. 

“Did I fucking stutter?” Miu suddenly yells. “The longer I have to be around you assholes then the more you’re all gonna notice me since I’m the best looking motherfucker here! I’ll attract everyone’s attention and then when some cuck plans a murder, they’ll think of me and then I’ll be screwed!”

“I don’t think that’s gonna happen,” Rantaro responds with a raised eyebrow. “Maybe you’re over thinking-”

Miu ignores him as she presses a hand to her ear. “Shut up for a second! I’m trying to...”

Tsumugi sends Rantaro a confused look and he can only respond with a shrug. He doesn’t think he’ll ever really understand Miu or what her true intentions are. Instead, he finishes bringing in all of the plates of snacks and places them at the table. He feels a surge of pride as he looks at his and Tsumugi’s handiwork. Sure, Kirumi probably could’ve done something a million times better but she deserves a break once in a while. 

Miu ends up making a mess as she leans over for the bowl of peaches, which is at the center of the table and ends up knocking over a tube of crisps with her chest. She groans loudly as she decides to pick up the bowl and place it onto her lap. 

“They’re so big,” Miu sighs. “The consequences of being gorgeous can be so high sometimes.”

Rantaro rolls his eyes as he picks the tube back up. “Whatever you say, Iruma.”

“Like you’d understand,” Miu huffs. “You’re at least only a two on a scale of ten. Maybe a three because you’ve got all those rings and piercings but you’re definitely not a four!”

“What about me?” Tsumugi asks with bright eyes.

“Zero.”

Tsumugi sighs as she plops a cherry into her mouth. “That sounds about right for someone as plain as me.”

“Don’t worry,” Rantaro reassures her. “You’re totally higher than a zero.”

“She is?” Miu splutters. “Okay, Casanova! What number would you rate her then?”

Rantaro sighs. “Do we really have to do this?”

“Yes!” Both Miu and Tsumugi cry at the same time. Miu’s mouth drops open whilst Tsumugi flushes as she twirls a strand of hair around her finger. 

“Um, only if you want to,” Tsumugi adds quietly. 

Rantaro smiles at her. “Well, you definitely score a ten for personality.”

“You cheesy fuck,” Miu chortles.

“But what about looks?” Tsumugi prompts. “I know I’m plain but I want to be at least higher than zero.”

“One is my highest offer,” Miu replies haughtily. 

Tsumugi pouts. “But…”

Rantaro is saved when Kiyo walks into the room. His hair looks messier than usual, as if he’s been running his hands through it over and over. Rantaro shoots him a concerned look and is surprised when he’s ignored.

“Whose that?” Miu asks out loud. She scoots her chair away and ends up knocking into an empty one. She screams and only stops when Kiyo sighs loud enough to make himself known.

“Do stop that awful screeching, it’s annoying,” Kiyo says as he reaches for the coffee. 

“A-Annoying?!”

Tsumugi looks pleased as sweat rolls down Miu’s face. “I’d give you a zero for personality!”

“Shut up, bitch!” Miu pouts before taking a rough bite out of a peach, juice trickling down her chin. 

“Shinguji, did you sleep well?” Rantaro asks as he grabs a cup of coffee for himself. 

Kiyo looks down into his coffee, as if it holds all the answers of the universe. “No.”

“Oh.”

“I’m not sure when I’ll be able to sleep well again,” Kiyo admits distantly. “I was plagued with some rather unfortunate thoughts whilst I laid on my bed. None of them were good. No, not at all.”

“Could you not think of anything good to tug it too?” Miu asks sympathetically. “‘Cause I’ve got the perfect invention-”

“Didn’t I already tell you to be quiet?” Kiyo snaps. “Your entire existence is annoying me.”

“W-What did I do?” Miu snivels. 

“What’s wrong, Shinguji? You seem to be in a bad mood,” Tsumugi asks with furrowed eyebrows. 

Kiyo seems to brighten up. “Ah, a fair maiden. Finally.”

“Wait a fucking second-”

“I had the most awful thoughts,” Kiyo admits. “Like that we’re all going to be trapped here forever, which certainly won’t do. I think that realising that there’s only ten of us left spooked me.”

“Oh,” Tsumugi droops. “Yeah, ten…”

Rantaro clears his throat and tries to cheer everyone up before things get even worse. “Shirogane and I thought we should do something for everyone who has passed. We were thinking of having a party of some sort-”

“Isn’t that a little inappropriate?” Miu snaps. “People are dying you dipshit. Aren’t parties for celebrations?”

“We’d be celebrating their lives,” Tsumugi explains. “Like, remembering them before they died. Besides, I think that they’d all want us to be happy! Wouldn’t you agree, Iruma?”

“Well,” Miu sighs as she presses her palm into her ear. She pauses. “I fucking guess so. But can’t we call it something else?”

“Like what?” Rantaro asks. “Do you have any suggestions?”

“I don’t know! Fine, call it whatever. Just don’t bring any fucking bugs to it. I’m still finding bugs in my hair from big dick’s party.”

Rantaro thinks back to Gonta’s party. It was one of the last things he ever did before he passed. At least he seemed to enjoy the party even though no one else really did. 

“What a kind idea,” Kiyo muses. “Count me in.”

“Great!” Tsumugi pumps her fist. “I feel like a protagonist or something right now! They always end up cheering people up, right?”

“Well,” Miu bites down on the peach once more. “It really does depend on what your watching. Because I like all sorts of shit and let me tell you-”

“Iruma,” Rantaro sighs. 

“What? I was just gonna talk about…” Miu goes pink. “You know what? Fuck it. It doesn’t matter.”

“Were you going to perhaps talk about kid’s television?” Kiyo suggests. “It’s listed in your bio that-”

“What?!” Miu slumps forwards. “Fucking Monokuma…”

“So,” Tsumugi smiles widely as she looks at everyone sat at the table. “Who wants to help me plan this party? I think we should have it tomorrow so we have plenty of time to sort everything out today? I’ll need a couple of people at least to…”

“My apologies but I’ll be busy today,” Kiyo admits. “I was thinking of spending the day inside of my lab.”

“Same,” Miu responds, her hand crawling around the table in search of a tissue.

Tsumugi pauses. “Ah…”

“I’ll help,” Rantaro quickly offers. “It’ll be nice to keep busy.”

Tsumugi seems happy with his response as her eyes widen. “Right?! Should we look for some others to help us? We should be waking everyone because then they’ll miss out on our picnic!”

She drags him out of the room and he barely misses hitting his head off of the door frame. They don’t run into everyone as they run through the halls, that look a lot cleaner now. The grass that had once dominated the floor has now been cut and barely pokes through the cracks of the floor. 

Tsumugi cheerfully goes around all the doors and knocks on them. She doesn’t seem fazed when she’s met with different looks from everyone. Kirumi looks tired but says she’ll head to the dining room as soon as she can. Maki glares and mutters something that sounds like an agreement. Himiko doesn’t answer the door so Tsumugi has to go inside and tell her about the plans. She doesn’t come back with an answer. 

Kaito seems more cheerful but his eyes flicker from Tsumugi and back into his bedroom. 

“I’ve got Shuichi with me,” Kaito says. “I’ll be sure to bring him with me tomorrow!”

Finally when Tsumugi reaches Kokichi’s door, it flies open before she can open it. 

“I’ve already heard everything,” Kokichi tells her as he leans against the door frame. “I can’t wait to have a party celebrating that everyone died! I was so sick of them all anyway!”

“No,” Tsumugi frowns. “We’re not throwing a party because we’re happy that they’re dead-”

“You’re not?” Kokichi pouts. “Aw man.”

“You’re still welcome to come,” Rantaro offers, brushing Kokichi’s comments to the side because now really isn’t the right time to start an argument. “Or help if you would like?”

“We’re trapped in a killing game and you both want to sit around and make party decorations?” Kokichi raises an eyebrow. “Are you both dumb or have really sick senses of humour?”

“Ouma, you’re the one with a sick sense of humour,” Tsumugi frowns. “You just said-”

“I’m getting bored!” Kokichi says with a dramatic yawn. “I’m gonna go back to be-”

“Actually,” Rantaro quickly cuts in. “You should join us inside the dining hall. Monokuma is probably going to drop by later with more things to unlock the academy with.”

“And?” Kokichi picks at his nails. “All we’re going to get are some more boring labs. What was it? Shirogane’s? At least by beloved Saihara is getting his lab too! Now that’s going to be an interesting one!”

“Ah, that’s right,” Tsumugi grins. “I'll get to see my lab! Isn’t this so exciting, Amami?”

She holds onto his hand. Rantaro rubs the back of his head. “Yeah, I guess so.”

Kokichi sticks his tongue out at the public affection. “You’re both so disgusting. Get a room at least.”

“Eh?” Tsumugi withdraws her hand instantly. “We’re not-”

“I don’t care for any of the new labs,” Kokichi yawns. “So leave me alone, yeah? I’m pretty busy doing super evil stuff at the minute and you’re both boring me.”

“Super evil?” Tsumugi’s eyes widen in alarm. “Wait-”

Kokichi slams his bedroom door so forcefully that it rattles momentarily. Then, Rantaro hears the sound of it being locked. He sighs. 

“Let’s go back to the dining hall. Monokuma is probably waiting for us,” Rantaro says glumly as he walks away from Kokichi’s bedroom door. 

Tsumugi blinks before scurrying after him. “Oh, um, yeah.” She looks back at Kokichi’s door momentarily and stares at it before rushing out of the dormitories with butterflies inside her stomach. 

\---

As predicted, Monokuma hands over only two new prizes to unlock new areas in the school. 

Rantaro looks down at the pale blue stone in his hand as well as the paintbrush. 

“Angie’s fucking dead,” Miu points out when she grabs the paintbrush. “How are we supposed to use it now? This is pointless!”

“I may not have that much talent in the art department but I have dabbled in art whilst out on my journeys,” Kiyo admits, plucking the brush from her hands and wiping it on his sleeve. “I’m sure that I’ll be able to use this.”

“Great!” Tsumugi claps her hands together. “Then-”

“Hold on a second!” Monokuma taps his foot. “Geez, you’re all so impatient! I also have another prize for you all!”

He proudly holds out a card in his hands.

“What’s that?” Kaito asks, scratching the side of his head. 

Monokuma lazily smiles. “It’s a key card!” He says as he shows it off. “Which also so happens to be apart of the motive I’ll be giving you all!”

“A new motive already?” Maki scowls. “Isn’t it too soon?”

“There can never be enough murders! Well, unless they’re on after another,” Monokuma sighs heavily. “Poor Akamatsu, dying for absolutely no reason!”

Kaito looks like he’s ready to charge at Monokuma. He’s lucky that Maki puts a hand on his arm and shakes her head. “There’s no point. You’ll just get hurt.”

“You should listen to her, you know?” Monokuma advises him. “If you so much as lay a finger on me then I’ll have the exisals on you in no time!”

“Tsk, whatever,” Kaito shrugs it off. 

“How is a key card a motive anyway?” Tsumugi tilts her head. “Are we going to be opening up a new area? That doesn’t seem to bad but I don’t actually remember what area it could be opening up.”

“There wasn’t anything too unusual on Amami’s tablet either,” Maki says. “So-”

“And the other half of the motive is!” Monokuma puts his hands to his mouth, wearing a look of glee. “You’re all going to be stuck to someone else until a new murder has occurred!”

“H-Huh?” Miu blinks. “Stuck like how?”

“You’ll have to stay in the same room as your partner at all times,” Monokuma explains. “At first I was just going to use Hoshi’s cuffs but you know, things would’ve gotten a little awkward.”

“Like going to the bathroom,” Tsumugi flushes. “Because if I was stuck with a boy then…”

Monokuma glances around the room and stops at Shuichi. “Ah ha! Saihara, I need your hat!”

Shuichi holds onto his hat. “Why?”

“I’m gonna stick a bunch of names in it!” Monokuma explains as he tugs the hat from his hands. He gets everyone to scribble their names down on a piece of paper and throw them into the hat.

“This is rather tame,” Kirumi frowns as she folds her piece of paper in half. “Wouldn’t you be helping us rather than hindering us? No one will murder anyone else since there will be at least two witnesses depending on the situation and no one would be stupid enough to kill their own partner.”

“Of course, of course,” Monokuma waves his paw up and down. “I also thought of that but alas, I can’t have another person just kill them self. It's rather boring.”

“Eh? Is that why you want us to do this?” Kokichi blinks. 

“I just said it's boring!” Monokuma complains. “And it means there’s one less execution! So now you all have to look after each other! But, you all need to kill each other too so make you all don’t get too close!”

“This really doesn’t make any sense,” Kiyo says as he puts his name in the hat. 

“Deal with it!” Monokuma shakes the names around dramatically. He then plunges his hand into the sea of papers and pulls one out. “Ah, Yumeno!”

She lifts her head up from the table and sighs. “What?”

“You’ll be partnered with…” He pulls out another name. Monokuma promptly pulls a face. “This doesn’t count.”

“Wait, who can’t Yumeno be partnered with?” Kirumi asks with narrowed eyes. “Is she in danger?”

Kokichi looks over Monokuma’s shoulder and plucks the paper out of his hands. The bear growls and attempts to elbow the smaller male in the stomach but he swiftly moves out of the way. “Saihara?”

“Eh?” Miu cocks her head to the side. “What’s wrong with that?”

“Nothing!” Monokuma snatches the paper from Kokichi’s hands and shoves it back into the hat. “I just didn’t like that combination. Besides, I’m the headteacher! I can do whatever the hell I want!”

“It seems there’s no reasoning with him,” Kiyo sighs. 

Monokuma pulls out another name and seems to be more pleased with it. “Ah, Tojo! You’ll be partners with Yumeno!”

“That is fine with me,” Kirumi says as she stands by the chair Himiko is sat on. “I’ll do my best to look out for her.”

“Now for the next name!” Monokuma fishes out a new piece of paper. “Ooh, Harukawa!”

Maki’s eyes almost look like they’re glowing red. “At least let me pick a name out.”

“Fine by me!” Monokuma shoves the hat towards Maki. “Have fun!”

Instead of picking a name at random, she starts to go through the pieces of paper with narrowed eyes. 

“Um, are you looking for someone in particular?” Tsumugi asks with an awkward smile.

“Is this allowed?” Kokichi smirks. “I bet she’s looking for her beloved Momota!”

Maki crunches up the piece of paper that’s in her hand. “Shut up.”

“Oh, you’ve picked already?” Monokuma pulls the hat back. 

A look of raw panic takes over Maki’s face. “No-”

“Well, who did you pick, Maki?” Kaito asks, leaning over her shoulder to look at the name. He watches as she unfolds the piece of paper angrily. Kaito raises an eyebrow. “Ouma? Why did you pick him?”

“I didn’t want too,” Maki hisses. Her posture turns stiff as Kokichi happily skips towards her. “Touch me and I’ll punt you into your own grave.”

Kokichi’s eyes water. “B-But M-Makiroll, we’re s-supposed to b-be partners!”

“Die.”

“Please don’t kill him,” Kaito sighs. 

“Well, if she got to pick a name then I want to pick one for me!” Miu pushes her way towards the hat.

“I need to pick your name out first!” Monokuma sighs as he takes out another piece of paper. “Ah! It looks like we get to pick a partner for Amami!”

“Do you want to pick?” Kaito asks him. 

“I really don’t care,” Rantaro admits. 

Monokuma makes a rather big deal out of picking out the next piece of paper, humming loudly as he rattles the pieces of paper around. After at least a minute, he finally picks out a piece of paper and opens it rather quickly. 

“Your lucky partner is...Iruma!”

“Oh he certainly is lucky!” Miu comments as she licks her lips. 

“Amami, I’m so sorry,” Kaito says. 

Miu splutters as Monokuma laughs, pulling out yet another name. 

“Ooh, Shirogane!” Monokuma reads out before putting the paper onto the table. “Let’s see who your partner is!”

“Ah, is it okay if I pick?” Tsumugi flashes the bear a smile. “I’m finding this rather exciting!”

“Sure!” Monokuma hands her the hat and she rummages through the final names. 

She pulls out one and reads it. “Oh, Saihara! We’re going to be partners! That’s okay, right?”

Shuichi gives her a tight smile. “Y-Yeah…”

“That means that Momota and I are going to be partners,” Kiyo muses. “I see. Very well. I could’ve gotten a worse person to be stuck with.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?” Kaito sweats. 

“Aw man, Momota got stuck with someone super creepy!” Kokichi says. “Lucky for me I got my absolute best friend!”

“Go and choke.”

“See,” Kokichi wipes a fake tear. “She loves me.”

“Di-”

“You all know the rules!” Monokuma announces. “You all must be in the same room as each other. However, if you all go outside you can be as far away from your partner as you want! As long as your partner doesn’t go inside another building then you’ll be safe! However, if either you or your partner leaves a room without the other then you’ll both be punished!”

“But what if the doors are too small for two people to go through at once?” Kirumi asks. “Then it would be impossible for us to stick together.”

“You all really want me to get the handcuffs out,” Monokuma huffs. “Fine! You all must hold hands whilst going through a door!”

“But what about the bathroom?” Miu squeezes her legs together. “I’m not letting no pervert listen to me shit!”

“Believe me, I don’t want to,” Rantaro firmly tells her. 

Monokuma shrugs. “That’s not my problem.”

He leaves the room and everyone looks at each other with the same tired expression. Rantaro supposes he should feel grateful that Monokuma hasn’t made them do anything else or really put them into handcuffs but he’s still a little irritated. How on earth is he going to make this work anyway?

“Come on, dipshit,” Miu says as she hooks their arms together. “You better realise that I’m only letting you get this close because I don’t want to fucking die. The world needs me so you better protect me! If you let me die I’ll come back and chop off your di-”

“Don’t worry,” Rantaro sighs. “I won’t let you die.”

Miu huffs and tries to cross her arms only to realise that she can’t. Instead she rolls her eyes. “Good. I’m glad that you have at least one working brain cell.”

Across the room, things are not as calm. 

“Don’t touch me,” Maki pulls her hand back. 

“But Harukawa, I didn’t go to the bathroom before coming down here!” Kokichi wails. “And I really need to go like, right now!”

“Are you serious?” Maki’s eye twitches. 

“Yeah!” Kokichi nods up and down furiously. “Come on! Hurry up or I might pee all over the floor!”

“Please don’t,” Kirumi responds. “Harukawa, please just get rid of him already.”

“She means to take him to the bathroom,” Kaito quickly corrects. “So don’t kill him.”

Maki groans as she drops the fork she had picked up from the table. “Fine. I’ll just stick my hand under the hand dryer or something.”

She scowls as Kokichi holds onto her wrist, making sure that his hand is only touching her scrunchie. The room seems less tense but somehow still more tense. Which is strange. 

“Tsk, I don’t see why Monokuma is making us do this,” Kaito complains. “Who's gonna kill themselves now anyway?”

Tsumugi clears her throat. “Um, Momota…”

“Aren’t you being a little insensitive?” Kiyo points out. “Haven’t you considered that maybe some people here just aren’t as strong as you?”

“Well, yeah,” Kaito says. “But it would be pretty stupid to want to die now. I’m gonna make sure that we all leave and that’s a promise! So, yeah. No one’s allowed to die now!”

“Wow, I can’t believe Momota just ended the killing game,” Miu gasps sarcastically. “Not!”

“I think you’re thinking things through wrong,” Kirumi tries to explain. “Some people here were closer to some people who simply aren’t here anymore.”

“Hey, you’ve all got me!” Kaito announces. 

Kiyo sighs. “Is this what I have to put up with from now on?”

“Hey!”

“Perhaps we should go and unlock the new areas,” Kirumi suggests. She picks up the keycard from the table. “I’ll deal with this one.”

“But I don’t think anyone knows where that goes,” Tsumugi points out. “Besides, that’s also a motive.”

“Which means it’s dangerous,” Kirumi responds. “I’ll be looking after it until further notice.”

“But won’t that make you a target?” Rantaro asks. “Maybe you shouldn’t…”

Kirumi shakes her head as she slips the card into her pocket. “I’ll have Yumeno to look out for me too. Besides, I am correct in thinking that we don’t want to unlock whatever this key unlocks correct? I’ve decided that I’m going to hide it whilst you all unlock new areas.”

“Are you stupid? How can you hide it if you have Yumeno with you?” Miu tuts. “She can just tell us where you’ve put it.”

“I’m trusting she won’t,” Kirumi answers. 

Himiko doesn’t even lift her head up off the table. Perhaps she hasn’t even been listening to the conversation either. 

“Well if you’re sure,” Kaito says uncertainly. “Then I guess we’ll take this?” He picks up the blue stone from the table. It fits perfectly in his rather large hands. “Come on, Shinguji! You’re my new sidekick now!”

“Oh joy,” Kiyo drawls as Kaito marches him out of the room. 

Tsumugi fumbles with the paintbrush. “The rest of us can find where this goes,” Tsumugi says. “Although I thought Shinguji wanted to use this one.”

“Whatever, we don’t need him,” Miu responds. “Hurry up! The sooner we get this other and done with, the better!”

Miu pulls him through every door she has to, keeping their arms linked the entire time. It makes going up the stairs a little awkward as Rantaro keeps stumbling and every time he does, Miu accuses him of looking up her skirt. He sighs as she continues to drag him around until she finally tells him to take over. 

“I don’t fucking know where we should go!” Miu complains as she twirls some hair around her finger. “You decide!”

“Maybe we should look over here?” Tsumugi suggests. 

Shuichi follows behind the cosplayer as she walks up to a white wall and starts to use the brush on it. Images of Monokuma begin to appear on it as if by magic before the wall completely disappears altogether. Rantaro blinks at the staircase that is now in front of them.

“There’s another staircase, right?” Miu asks as she pulls Rantaro along towards it. She takes a hesitant step forwards before finding the stairs. She then confidently starts to trek up them one by one until he reaches the top. 

Rantaro is surprised how eerie the new floor is. He feels like he’s inside a chapel yet when he looks at the statues of Monokuma that are scattered around the floor, he decides that maybe he isn’t. Since the walls seems to be made from stone, the new floor is a lot cooler than the rest of the academy. Rantaro rubs his arms as he glances around in awe, admiring how detailed this new floor really is. 

“Wow, this floor is really pretty,” Tsumugi comments, adjusting her glasses. “Monokuma must’ve put a lot of work into it!”

“Hey, what do you think, Saihara?” Rantaro asks.

Shuichi glances around. “It’s...okay.”

“Who cares what this area looks like,” Miu snaps. “Let’s just find all the labs already!”

“Iruma, wait! I’m pretty sure that mine is just…” Tsumugi droops as Miu decides to walk off. 

Rantaro quickly catches up to her before she can split away from him. “We need to stay together, remember?” Rantaro points out. “It would be rather embarrassing if we were punished only a couple of minutes after the motive has started.”

“Whatever,” Miu says. “It’s your responsibility to make sure we aren’t split up, not mine! Do a better fucking job next time if you’re so concerned.”

She struts forwards before walking right into a wall. 

Rantaro sighs as he spins her around. She’s holding onto her nose but from the looks of it, it isn’t actually bleeding. Still, he wants to check so he carefully knocks her hands out of the way. 

“Hmm, it doesn’t look broken,” Rantaro says. “Just make sure-”

“Y-You don’t need to make a big deal out of it,” Miu snaps. “Fucking virgin.”

She surprisingly manages to head to a door without anymore problems and opens it, making sure to grab Rantaro’s hand as she enters a new room. 

Rantaro is instantly met with warmth and makes sure to quickly close the door so the room doesn’t get cold. He looks around and thinks this has to be Shuichi’s lab. There’s a fire going in the fireplace. Near the fireplace is a large, comfy looking chair that has a couple of pillows on it. Scattered around the room are a couple of desks with complicated looking equipment on them. There’s also a thick bookshelf that seems to be brimming with files. 

In the corner also stands a cabinet with a glass window. When Rantaro peers through the window, his heart momentarily stops. There’s rows of bottles that vary in size and colour. He looks up and down the shelves in horror. Just how much poison is inside the cabinet? When Rantaro pulls on the cabinet door to see if it opens, he’s horrified to find that it does with no resistance. 

“You’re being awfully quiet,” Miu says. “You’re not masturbating, are you?”

“There’s a cabinet full of poison,” Rantaro answers. “There’s so many bottles…”

“R-Really?” Miu pauses. “Can’t we just like, throw them away or something?”

“Monokuma would just restock it probably,” Rantaro responds. He grabs one at random, a small, purple bottle with only a corkscrew to keep the contents from leaking out. He reads the label out loud. “Warning, if swallowed you will die a slow and painful death. You only need one drop for effect.”

“Just one?” Miu trembles. “And you’re saying that there’s loads of bottles too?!”

“I’m not sure if they’re all poison,” Rantaro admits. “There are some that say they’re antidotes.”

“Hopefully some fuckers don’t mess with the labels then,” Miu grumbles. “Monokuma will probably restock the shelves but he probably wouldn’t give a shit if someone swapped the labels.”

Rantaro swallows heavily, putting the poison back into the cabinet. “Iruma, maybe you can make a lock for the cabinet?”

“It’s got a glass window, right?” Miu points out. “A lock would be useless.”

“Oh.” Rantaro’s reflection that’s trapped inside of the glass looks pale. He puts a hand to his cheek and is startled that it feels so cold. 

Not only has Monokuma just made the game so much more dangerous, Rantaro doesn’t want to think about how Shuichi will feel when he spots all this poison inside of his lab. There must be a way he can hide or get rid of it just for now. Maybe he can convince Miu to keep her mouth shut about it and just put a cloth over the cabinet? If he tells everyone that whatever is under the cloth is dangerous then they’d understand, right? 

“Oh wow! Saihara’s lab looks great!”

Kokichi pulls Maki inside of the lab and glances around it with sparkly eyes. 

“Have you finished pissing?” Miu asks, scrunching her face up. 

“No!” Kokichi sighs. “In fact, I’m still peeing right now!”

“Amami, do you want to swap partners?” Maki asks, looking exhausted. “I don’t know how long I can deal with him for.”

“And I don’t know how long I can be around a filthy killer for but here we are!” Kokichi responds cheerfully.

Maki turns rigid. 

“Hey, hey, what’s all of this?” Kokichi darts for the poison cabinet because of course he would. His eyes widen as he glances up and down the shelves. “Wow! Monokuma went all out, didn’t he?”

“That’s all poison?” Maki raises an eyebrow. 

“Some of them are antidotes,” Rantaro informs her. “But I haven’t had the chance to count how much is inside there.”

“There’s loads of it!” Kokichi cries. “Quick, let’s move them into the kitchen where they belong!”

Maki’s hand twitches and Rantaro has to bite his tongue. Thankfully Miu says something before either Maki and Rantaro can do anything. “Why the fuck would we put poison in the kitchen you idiot? Stop being a dick for one second of your pathetic life and just shut up!”

“Ouch,” Kokichi feigns a wince. “That hurt.”

“Still, we should move or hide all this before Saihara sees it,” Maki says, putting a hand on her hip. “We can move it all into my lab now and tell Shirogane to keep him occupied for a bit.”

“How are you going to discreetly move an entire cabinet of poison downstairs without him noticing?” Miu asks. “He’s gonna be suspicious that an entire cabinet has been removed from his lab.”

“We’ll tell him what we moved later,” Maki says. “But right now, he doesn’t need to know.”

“Of course you’d want all of the poison,” Kokichi says as he glances at the rows of bottles. “But I guess we’ll let the killer keep all of the poison.”

“We might as well keep everything dangerous in one place,” Rantaro explains. “That way we can keep track of everything.”

“You seriously think Monokuma is going to just let you move an entire cabinet?” Kokichi argues. 

“I won’t let him stop me,” Maki responds firmly. “Amami, will you help me carry it downstairs?”

“S-Sure,” Rantaro says. He can already feel his back and shoulders burning already. 

“Why not just grab all the bottles instead?” Miu suggests. “It’ll be a hell of a lot easier.”

“I presume Monokuma will restock the cabinet,” Maki says. “I doubt that he’ll actually put a new cabinet in since we haven’t technically destroyed this cabinet. We’re just moving it.”

“Wow! You’re so smart, Harukawa!” Kokichi cheers. 

Rantaro and Miu both head to the other door they can find on the fifth floor and find Tsumugi and Shuichi inside. The cosplayer seems to be having the time of her life as she dances around the room, holding onto different dresses and holding them up to her body.

“Ah, Amami! Iruma!” Tsumugi gestures for the two to come in. “Look, it’s my lab!”

“You seem to be enjoying yourself,” Rantaro says, pleased that Tsumugi is in a better mood.

Tsumugi nods eagerly. “Of course I am! Now I can make and wear as much as I want! I’m so excited, Amami! You’ll have to cosplay with me one day! I have so many outfits I want to try!”

“Just keep me out of it,” Miu tells her, looking slightly put off. 

“But Iruma!” Tsumugi cries, dropping the dress in her hands so she can hold onto Miu’s. “I’ve already had so many ideas for you! With a body like yours I can try out so many ideas that I’ve never had a chance to do!”

“M-My body?” Miu turns her head away with a dark pink blush. “I-I mean i-if you really w-want I won’t be that o-opposed I guess.”

“Great!” Tsumugi spins back around. “I’m still trying to get Saihara to join in with me! I want to get his measurements so I can make him a super cool detective uniform! What he’s wearing right now is kind of lame, isn’t it?”

Miu chokes on her laughter whilst Rantaro shakes his head. “If he’s comfortable in what he’s in.”

“Actually, that’s a great idea!” Miu says as she elbows Rantaro’s stomach. “How long does it take to make a new outfit anyway?”

“Oh, um, well I’m really fast so it shouldn’t take too long,” Tsumugi admits. “Although I want to make a few just in case.”

Rantaro catches on. “That’s a great idea actually, Shirogane!”

“Right!” Tsumugi beams. “But I guess I’ll do it later because Saihara and I haven’t seen the rest of the academy yet.”

“There’s no need,” Miu buts in. “It’s pretty fucking boring. You and the boytoy will be fine here.”

“Huh?” Tsumugi blinks and looks at Rantaro’s desperate expression. “W-Well if you say so.”

“Take as long as you both need!” Rantaro says on the way out. “Seriously.”

Miu gives him a smirk as they head back to Shuichi’s lab. “You can’t act to save your life, lover boy.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?” Rantaro sweats. They both head into the lab together. 

Inside, Maki has already started to move the cabinet. It has been mostly emptied to make it easier to carry. All the desks and most of the floor has already been covered in bottles of poison. 

“Iruma, maybe you should step to the side for now,” Rantaro tells her. 

“Why?” Miu says before she knocks over one of the bottles. Thankfully, it doesn’t smash and its lid stays on. “Oh.”

Together, Maki and Rantaro lift the cabinet out from the lab. It’s awkward, especially since Kokichi has to hold onto the back of Maki’s shirt the entire time and Miu’s grip on Rantaro’s wrist is starting to get a little painful. Maki goes down the stairs first and is surprisingly effective at barking out instructions and telling Rantaro when to stop and start. A couple of times the cabinet doors shudder open but since the shelves are empty, nothing falls out. 

Rantaro is sweating by the time they make it down the first set of steps. He wipes his forehead as he gulps in deep breaths. 

“That thing is heavier than it looks,” Rantaro says, wishing that he had a bottle of water or something. 

Maki shrugs. “You’ll live.”

He sighs as he picks up the bottom of the cabinet once more and carries it along the scarier part of the school that doesn’t actually bother him anymore. The hallways looked too tacky to actually be considered scary anyway. 

They finally reach Maki’s lab after a long and painful walk. Rantaro happily dumps the cabinet on the floor in the lab. For now, they’ve tucked it away in the back corner of the room. It’s rather noticeable since the cabinet is brown and the rest of the room is more grey but it doesn’t really matter too much. 

“Now to get the poison,” Maki says. She grabs three bags from a metal table and drop their contents all over the floor. Rantaro is surprised to see confusing looking weapons fall to the floor. Maki ignores them. “We can carry the bottles inside these.”

She passes a bag to Rantaro and launches the other to Kokichi, who yelps as it slaps him in the face. He pouts as he puts the straps over his shoulder. Rantaro has to suppress a laugh. The bag almost swamps Kokichi in a comical way. 

They go back to Shuichi’s lab and start to sort out the poisons. Rantaro puts the least dangerous poisons inside of his bag, Maki puts the most poisonous ones inside of hers and Kokichi fills his back up with antidotes. When he tries to stand up after filling up his bag, he almost topples over due to the weight of them all. He sighs loudly and starts to instead drag the bag along the floor noisily. 

“They’re too heavy!” Kokichi whines. “I’m gonna break all of my bones carrying this!”

“Good,” Maki says. She looks tempted to push the boy down the stairs, consequences be damned. 

Maki effortless carries the poisons back to her lab and starts to shove all of the dangerous ones right into the back of the cabinet. Then, Rantaro places the less lethal ones inside. Finally, the front rows of bottles placed by Kokichi are all antidotes. 

“That way, we know if someone has been trying to reach anything dangerous,” Maki says as she closes the cabinet. 

Miu huffs. “You really do think things through.”

“Is that a problem?”

“It’s fucking creepy,” Miu says. 

“It’s safe,” Rantaro reminds her. 

Kokichi hums. “But is it really? Four people know how the shelves have been rearranged and one of those four people is a smelly assassin.”

“I don’t have a reason to kill,” Maki tells him. “So don’t give me a reason too.”

“Ooh, I’m so scared,” Kokichi rolls his eyes. 

“You really should be,” Miu says. 

The two pairs split ways once more as Rantaro decides that he and Miu should head back to Tsumugi’s lab.

\---

Inside Tsumugi’s lab, the cosplayer is happily say in the corner with a needle between her lips and a half made shirt on her lap. Occasionally, she lifts her gaze up to look at Shuichi, who has decided to sit on one of the couches inside her bar set. He doesn’t appear to be looking at anything in particular but Tsumugi feels concerned. 

“Are you okay, Saihara?” Tsumugi asks, placing the needle and thread on a place where she can find it again later. “Do you not like the clothes that I’m making you?”

When he doesn’t respond, Tsumugi clicks her fingers. He jolts. “Sorry?”

“Ah, sorry. You were kinda zoning out,” Tsumugi says. “Um, Saihara, do you need to talk or anything?”

“What...do you mean?”

“Well,” Tsumugi flushes as she adjusts her glasses. “I know that you really cared about Akamatsu and well, it was just plain awful when Monokuma revealed that she, um, died for no reason.”

She cringes when Shuichi turns away from her. Maybe she should’ve worded herself differently. She curses Monokuma for his stupid idea to pair everyone together. She’s not that much of an emotional person, she really doesn’t know how to help. 

“Sorry,” she murmurs. “I’ll just go back to making your clothes.”

Her shoes loudly tap against the floor as she heads back to the half finished shirt. She really doesn’t know why she’s doing this. Shuichi has shown no desire to actually change his uniform. Maybe Rantaro is right, he’s probably better off wearing something that he’s comfortable in. With a sigh, Tsumugi drops the shirt onto the floor and instead goes to look at all the other cosplay that’s available in the room. 

Tsumugi distantly glances at all the other clothing. They all look like they’d fit her. She spots a uniform which could really be from any popular anime, a grey vest and a skirt that has been accompanied with a green wig and a dress that looks fit for a princess with a lot of wisdom to wear.

She’s not in the mood to dress up right now, which is strange because only moments ago she was over the mood that she had found her lab. 

Tsumugi jumps when she hears her lab door open and feels only a little bit better when Rantaro and Miu enter the room. 

“Hey!” Rantaro lifts a hand up in greeting. “How are you both doing?”

“Fine, I think,” Tsumugi answers. “But I think we’re both just about done here.”

“That’s a relief because we just found Shyhara’s lab,” Miu says. “It’s fucking boring though so don’t get too excited.”

“Ah, but it’s better than nothing!” Tsumugi quickly says. “Right, Saihara?”

He’s gone back to either ignoring her or not listening. Tsumugi knows that Shuichi is polite so she presumes that he simply didn’t hear her.

At least Rantaro is here. He puts a hand on Shuichi’s shoulder. “Come on, maybe seeing your new lab will cheer you up?”

So they all head to Shuichi’s lab together. Shuichi doesn’t give much of a reaction when he sees the lab. He does however, tilt his head when he spots the rather obvious gap inside of his lab. 

Thankfully, he doesn’t question it outloud and instead goes for the files that are lined up. He counts them slowly before murmuring. “There’s fifty two.”

“That’s a pretty specific number,” Miu states. “Wonder what’s inside of them.”

Shuichi grabs one of the files and sits in the rocking chair next to the fireplace, putting the file on his lap and starting to read it. He looks rather at home. 

“So, is there anything good inside of it?” Miu asks impatiently. 

Tsumugi sighs. “He’s only started reading it. He won’t have time to know.”

“Some detective he is,” Miu grumbles. 

“I do think it’s strange though. There’s something off about this room,” Tsumugi says as she puts a finger to her lips. “Nevermind, it must be my imagination.”

“Yeah, your imagination,” Rantaro echoes loosely.

“It is a very nice lab however,” Tsumugi comments politely. “Do you like it, Saihara?”

She smiles when she notices him reading the file intently. 

“I think you might want to find something to do for a bit,” Rantaro advises her. “You’re probably going to be here for a while.”

“It’s fine!” Tsumugi says. “Maybe I’ll have a look at the files too?”

Miu huffs. “Well I don’t want to stick around. It’s fucking boring in here!”

“Iruma, be nice,” Rantaro warns.

“H-Hee…”

“Boring! No lab I’ve designed should be called boring!”

Monokuma sighs as he walks through the lab door. 

“You all should really act more grateful!” Monokuma complains. “I put a lot of time and effort into making these specially! They’re my pride and j-”

“Eh? What’s wrong?” Tsumugi asks. 

“The poison cabinet,” Monokuma furiously shrieks. “Where did it go?”

Miu starts to whistle loudly. “Don’t ask me, I have no idea where it went!”

“There was a poison cabinet here?” Tsumugi pales. “Oh dear…”

“I even brought shot glasses too,” Monokuma complains. “We all would have drank it together! I mean, I can drink the poison without dying but I’m pretty sure you’d all be dead if you tried. Whatever, we still could’ve tried but now we can’t because someone has moved my poison cabinet!”

“There was a poison cabinet?” Shuichi asks, warily glancing over to the gap in his lab. “Inside of my lab?”

“Duh,” Monokuma groans. “Geez, people should ask before taking something that isn’t theirs! Aren’t you upset, Saihara? I made sure to only stock the most delicious poisons, you know?”

Shuichi’s lips go thin as he slaps the files shut and put them on his desk. “I have somewhere else to be.”

“W-Wait for me!” Tsumugi cries as she dashes after the detective, grabbing onto his arm as he storms out of the room. 

Rantaro scowls. “You’re horrid, you know?”

“I try my best,” Monokuma smiles lazily at him. “And I also know that you were the one who moved the poison cabinet. Usually, I’d punish you but technically you didn’t really break any rules. I’m still upset though! I still think the poison drinking game would’ve been fun!”

“It really wouldn’t have been,” Rantaro shakes his head. “Just leave already.”

“Hey, I’m the head teacher remember!” Monokuma stomps his foot. “It should be me telling all of you what to do! Which reminds me, Shinguji asked me to tell you all to meet up inside of the dining hall later. He found one of the flashback lights that I had hidden for you all! Aren’t I so generous?”

“No,” Miu promptly says. 

“Rough crowd,” Monokuma sighs. “Fine, whatever. Be rebellious. It won’t be me who you’ll both be disappointing when you don’t turn up to the dining hall.”

The bear waddles out of the room nonchalantly. 

\---

Ten and sixteen aren’t really that far apart. There’s only a six number different. Such as, if there was a bowl of sixteen apples and you took six away, you’d still have a lot of apples right? Ten apples is still quite a lot really. 

However, as Rantaro glances around the dining hall he thinks that it looks extremely empty. It’s nothing like the first day here, when they all woke up inside of lockers with bleary eyes and hesitantly introduced themselves to each other. When they were all forced to trust each other even though no one knew who the hell anyone else was. But, there had been sixteen of them and that’s all that mattered. 

He misses Kaede’s infectious courage and how she clasped her hands in front of the group before she started to encourage them all. 

He misses Gonta’s kindness and how friendly he was.

He misses Ryoma’s loud sighs and how he would tug on his hat when he was annoyed.

He misses Tenko’s loud bubbly personality and he even misses her claims that all males are degenerates.

He misses Angie’s weird personality and her strange rambles. 

He misses Kiibo’s cries of ‘That’s robophobic!’ every time someone (mainly Kokichi) said something offensive to him. 

“Would you like to participate in viewing the flashback light with us, Amami?” Kiyo asks as he holds up the large torch. 

“I know you’re probably worried that it might mess you up like last time but the mastermind doesn’t really have any reason to single you out anymore,” Kaito points out as he rubs the back of his head. “Besides, the more people who see it then the more likely we’ll be able to figure out what’s going on.”

“Yeah, come on, Amami!” Kokichi cooes. “It’s really fun, you know?”

“It really isn’t,” Maki sighs. “Last time it gave me a headache.”

“But Momota is right,” Tsumugi says. “The more people who see it, the better, you know? Don’t worry too much about it!”

Rantaro ends up agreeing because he figures he has nothing to lose at this point. Last time he used one, it took away memories that he never really understood in the first place. He’s not got many memories left to lose now anyway so he should be safe, right? Why would the mastermind continue to target him now anyway?

He takes a seat just to be safe and takes a deep breath just as Kiyo turns on the torch. 

The room twists and turns and transforms. 

Rantaro doesn’t understand. 

“Meteorites?” Rantaro says out loud.

Kirumi looks relieved. “So you saw them too?”

“Mankind deserves damnation?” Miu twitches as she puts a hand to her ear. “I-I don’t fucking understand. W-What happened?”

“Surely if the earth was struck with so many meteorites then we’d be dead,” Kiyo muses. “But that doesn’t seem to be the case. We’re all alive here, aren’t we?”

“Yeah but,” Maki pauses, “if that is the case then what happened?”

“I heard something about the Gofer Project,” Tsumugi says. “B-But I can’t remember if it succeeded or not…”

“Oh, so did I!” Kokichi smiles. “I mean, something must’ve gone right, riiight? We’re all still alive!”

“But we’re also participating in a killing game,” Kaito pounds his fists together. “Why the hell would we be playing a killing game whilst the earth is being hit with meteorites?”

“Maybe they stopped?” Kirumi suggests. “We haven’t seen a single meteorite ever since waking up here. Since that is the case I can only presume that the earth is no longer in danger.”

“Phew, that’s a relief!” Kokichi cheers. “Then I guess there’s nothing to worry about!”

“But why would we get a memory like that back?” Rantaro presses. “There must be some significance behind it. Monokuma has been very select with what memories we’re allowed back. Why would he give us this one?”

“Are the meteorites more important than we thought?” Kiyo pauses. “I simply have no recollection of what happened afterwards so I simply don’t know.”

“It means we’re fucked!” Miu cries. “B-But what we saw can’t be true, right? We’re all still here! The fucking sky is literally outside! What we saw doesn’t make any sense!”

“Of course it doesn’t!” Kokichi agrees. “Geez, what we saw probably was probably some trick to make us paranoid or something.”

“Huh? Do you think so?” Tsumugi asks. 

“There’s no evidence to say it’s true,” Kirumi says carefully. “Maybe we should simply ignore this memory.”

“B-But,” Kaito stutters out. “Fucking meteorites?”

“It would be highly illogical to presume the worst,” Kiyo says. “Like Iruma said, we’ve all seen the sky outside. We have no reason to think that the earth has been destroyed.”

As soon as Kiyo finishes his sentence, the light’s flicker out. Rantaro watches as the monitors turn off and blinks when the room finally descends into darkness. He puts one hand in front of his face but even then, he can’t see it. He even wiggles his fingers but he concludes that he can’t see anything. 

“H-Huh?” Tsumugi cries. She stumbles into a chair. “What’s going on?”

Kirumi clears her throat. “Everyone, we should evacuate outside until we know what’s happening. Remember to hold hands with your partner as we head out. We still don’t know if Monokuma is still watching.”

Rantaro easily finds Miu’s gloved hand and holds it firmly as he reaches for another hand to hold to walk through the door. Another hand hits into his and holds it tightly. Once they are all linked together, Kirumi leads the group through the back door and onto the decking outside. 

“Huh?” Kokichi tilts his head to the side. “Someone’s turned the sky off!”


	20. Chapter 20

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm gonna post this now even though the next chapter isn't finished. I have a little more free time next week so I'm gonna try and get some more chapters ready but I can't promise anything. 
> 
> I hope you all enjoy and thanks for reading!
> 
> Warning! There is a rather brief moment at the end of this chapter that involves depressing thoughts. Whilst it isn't too major and whilst the thought does get cut off before it's finished, I would just like to point out it's there.

“How?” Rantaro narrows his eyes, hoping that they’re playing a trick on them. He blinks over and over and even rubs but no, his eyes are telling the truth. Someone has quite literally turned the sky off. 

“This is so not cool,” Kaito pouts. “Who would do such a thing?”

“I mean, it’s not all that bad,” Kokichi happily points out. “The sky wasn’t really doing anything for us anyway! We’re all trapped inside this dumb glass dome anyway!”

“But we can’t see,” Kirumi responds. “This could end up being fatal if we don’t find a way to create some light. I think that perhaps the entire school has had a power outage.”

“Oh, right at the same time as the fucking sky?!” Miu stomps her foot. “Do you even know how the sky works or are you completely brain dead? Either we’re trapped in hell or something real fucking strange is going on.”

Kiyo hums. “Perhaps we are trapped in hell after all. It would make sense after all.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?” Maki huffs. 

“He means that he doesn’t like being around you!” Kokichi says as he squeezes Maki’s hand tightly. “My heart goes out for you, Harumaki, it really does! Don’t worry, I’ll be your best friend instead! Aren’t I so generous?”

Kokichi is ignored. 

Tsumugi ends up screaming when something red starts to head towards the group. It’s something small, so it can’t be that dangerous but still. It’s rather intimidating when it’s pitch black and you can’t even see anything. Rantaro takes a step back, making sure to keep Miu behind him. 

“Puhuhuhu!” The red thing cackles. “So you’ve all managed to make it outside! Aren’t you all impressed? I’ve made the sky disappear!”

“I’m more concerned how you did it,” Kiyo admits. “And when are you going to turn it back on? I prefer it when I can see thank you very much.”

“I’m not turning it back on until you all say that the memory I gave you is real!” Monokuma insists. He climbs up onto the decking. Right now, he’s only visible due to the alarming red light spilling from one of his eyes. “I don’t appreciate it when you all ignore my hard work, you know? I only chose the most important memories for you all!”

“And turning the sky off helps you prove a point how?” Maki raises an eyebrow. “We’re probably just trapped inside a secluded area or something. There’s probably monitors or something outside of the glass that acts like the sky.”

“Eh!” Monokuma droops. “You’re all being rather calm about this. I thought I would’ve managed to scare at least a few of you!”

Kaito blinks. “Well, we can’t really be that scared since we’ve already seen some freaky shit. You manage to summon all the equipment for punishments out of thin air so…”

“I-I’m a little scared,” Tsumugi admits. “‘Cause if there are monitors outside of the glass instead of an actual sky then...what really is outside of this dome?”

“Ahaha! Now someone’s asking the real questions!” Monokuma cheers, clapping his paws together. “Now that is a really good question, Shirogane? What is outside of the glass dome I wonder?”

“Well obviously you’d know,” Kirumi says. “But you’re not going to tell us until much later, right?”

“Correct!”

Rantaro fidgets, feeling sweat build up on his palms. “But what are you trying to hide? Did the meteorites actually damage the earth?”

“It sounds so despairing, doesn’t it?” Monokuma gasps. “However, there will be no answers until much later on! Just make sure you all don’t fall down the stairs and die or something whilst I turn the lights back on. If anyone dies a boring death then I’ll be forced to punish...someone else or something.”

“That isn’t fair,” Maki mutters as she watches Monokuma walk away until he’s swallowed up by the darkness. 

“So something’s happened to the fucking earth?” Miu huffs. “Fuck this!”

“I’m afraid there isn’t anything we can do about it just yet,” Kirumi says. “For all we know, Monokuma could just be lying to us to try and scare us into killing someone else. We really should just ignore him for the time being. There’s no proof to say otherwise that the earth has been damaged.”

“If the earth had been damaged then where would we get all the new food from anyway?” Kaito adds. He doesn’t seem too put off by the flashback light. “Everything will be fine! Monokuma is just trying to intimidate us. Don’t worry though! The great Kaito Momota won’t let him best us!”

“Is that what you think a superhero sounds like or something?” Kokichi smirks as one of his eyebrows raise. “Silly Momota!”

“Hey, someone has to keep the morale up here!” Kaito splutters. 

“Oh! Speaking of morale!” Tsumugi smiles as she adjusts her glasses. “Amami and I were thinking of throwing some sort of party tomorrow! We thought we should do something for all those who have passed so far and...we aren’t celebrating that they’re dead but we’re going to celebrate their lives. A funeral would be plain depressing but I think everyone deserves something at least!”

“That’s right,” Rantaro agrees. “We never really did anything for Kiibo when he died and then Gonta and Hoshi died so quickly after him…”

“Then the whole thing with Angie happened,” Kaito rubs the back of his head. “But a party sounds like a great idea! I totally want to help out! Where are we holding it?”

“We never got that far,” Tsumugi admits. “I was thinking outside but after finding out that the sky isn’t real...well it doesn’t sound as good as an idea.”

“No, it sounds like a great idea!” Kaito insists. “We can all have a party on the courtyard. The place outside of the dormitories is pretty spacious and there’s a picnic bench there too!”

“We also wouldn’t have to worry about the partner rule either,” Kirumi adds. “If we’re outside then we’re free to roam around as much as we can without worrying about the rules. It would make the party much more relaxing.”

“So do you all want to throw one?” Tsumugi asks brightly. “I’ll get started on it right away! Saihara, you’ll help me right?”

Shuichi swallows. “I’m not sure if I want too…”

“Hey, is there something wrong, bro?” Kaito tilts his head. “I’m sure Kaede would’ve wanted you to go! You can’t just mope around all day, you know? It’s not healthy! Since you’re my sidekick, I need you in top condition if I ever need some help!”

“But…” Shuichi’s voice wavers. Even though it’s dark, it’s obvious that he looks hesitant. Guarded. 

“I just want to nap too,” Himiko says, her voice sounding scratchy. 

Kirumi clicks her tongue. “But I’ll have to help with the preparations for the party. I won’t be able to do that if I stay with you inside of your room.”

“Then just go,” Himiko says. “No one is stopping you.”

“Actually, you’ll both get punished if you’re not in the same room together,” Maki says. “You should think about Tojo’s safety as well as your own. It won’t only be you who’ll get punished for breaking the rules.”

“Yeah, and you don’t want to be responsible for somebody else’s punishment too, riiight?” Kokichi innocently points out as he rolls from his tiptoes to the back of his feet. “I mean-”

Himiko’s head jolts as if she had just been slapped. “T-That’s-”

“If you have nothing nice to say then I recommend not saying anything at all,” Kirumi firmly says. “What happened with Chabashira was not Yumeno’s fault. You have no right to hold that against her.”

“Huh? You all still want to be friends with Yumeno even though she’s a killer?” Kokichi asks. “Aren’t you all quaking in your boots just being around her? I thought Harukawa gave me the chills but Yumeno? She frightens me.”

“I really didn’t mean to kill Angie,” Himiko whispers softly. “I-It was an accident.”

“Even if it was an accident, maybe if Chabashira hadn’t spent as much time trying to help you then maybe she would’ve spent more time with Akamatsu,” Kokichi points out. “Then maybe she’d still be alive.”

“Now wait a second,” Kaito’s voice cracks. “We all know Chabashira left Kaede before she even knew about Angie’s death. Why the hell do you have to act this way? You’re hurting people, not helping them.”

Kokichi shrugs in the dark. “What do you think, Saihara? Aren’t you angry that Yumeno stole that chance of Chabashira going to check on Akamatsu? She could still be alive right now, you know?”

“Stop it,” Maki says fiercely. “Even if Chabashira did go back, there would’ve been no way to save Akamatsu. She would’ve ended up dying in front of everyone else instead and that would’ve just been more traumatic.”

“Oh, like you’d care!” Kokichi sneers. “You only tried to kill her a couple of days ago! Did you even apologise for that?”

“Ouma, cut it out,” Kaito snaps. “What’s done is don-”

“Is it really?” Kokichi asks. “Momota really must be an idiot if he still trusts a killer. Are we all just going to let that slide? Maybe Angie had the right idea. Trapping Harukawa down the tunnels probably would keep the rest of us safe!”

It’s too dark to see who had ran across the decking. They’re certainly heard but then again their footsteps aren’t as loud as the smack that rings across the entire courtyard. It echoes around the dome and no one dares to even breathe as the lights suddenly turn back on. 

Kokichi’s fingers delicately run across his cheek that’s already starting to swell. 

“M-Momota!” Tsumugi gasps. “Y-You-”

“Momota! That really hurt!” Kokichi complains, drawing his hand away from his cheek.

Kaito’s eyes narrow. “Good.”

“Violence isn’t going to solve anything,” Kirumi scolds. “Yumeno, please come with me whilst I find some ice and a cloth. Ouma, stay out here and don’t move.”

“Maybe I want to move,” Kokichi mutters but doesn’t hesitate to sink into one of the metal chairs outside. His cheek is already starting to glow an angry red. 

“Perhaps we should ask Monokuma if we can swap partners,” Kiyo suggests. “From the looks of things, I’m not sure how long they’ll last.”

“Duh, that’s the whole point of this partner bullshit,” Miu says as she rolls her eyes. “We’ve only been put together for a couple of hours now.”

“If we can’t prove we can still be friends after a couple of hours then Monokuma will think that he has won,” Tsumugi adds. “So for now, I think we need to all calm down and just...stop for a couple of moments.”

“Are you sure you still want to throw a party, Shirogane?” Kiyo asks. “I think things are rather tense right now.”

“Of course!” Tsumugi responds with newfound determination. “Parties bring people together and right now, I think everyone needs a reminder that we’re all in this together. Whether they like it or not, we’re all going to be stuck here until we find a way out!”

“I already know that,” Kaito stresses. “But he’s pissing me off! Maki is one of us! He’s no better than a killer for ever suggesting to trap her down there!”

Kokichi shrugs. “Unlike Angie, I would’ve found a way to keep her alive you dumbass.”

“Oh, so now you want her alive?” Kaito grits his teeth. “You really are a piece of work.”

“I’m not a monster, Momota. My hands are clean,” Kokichi explains. “So why is it that you hate me but put all your trust into an assassin of all people? Do you think that you’re magically going to change her with some encouraging words? Just how much of a hero complex do you have? You’ll get yourself killed before you ever truly change her!”

Kaito stares at him as his face slowly turns purple. He clenches and unclenches his fists and he blows air from his nose. “Like you’ll ever understand.”

“Then enlighten me, Momota. Tell us what you think we should do?”

“We should…” Kaito pauses. His face drains from any colour, rapidly going from purple to a chalk white. “We-” His hands fly to his mouth as he’s suddenly brought to his knees. As much as he tries to press his hands to his mouth, bright pink blood manages to trickle from the cracks of his fingers and drip onto the decking. 

“Momota!” Maki is instantly by his side. Her eyes are unguarded for once, wide and frightened. 

Even Kaito’s cough provokes reactions from both Shuichi and Himiko, who share the same look of horror as they look at each other and then at the astronaut. They both stand together, their arms almost touching as Kaito continues to cough up blood in front of them. 

“It’s...fine,” Kaito finally manages to heave out, warily ignoring the blood that decorates the decking. “M’ cold is just getting worse, ‘s all.”

“You still think you have a stupid cold?” Maki’s voice is high. 

“I’m an astronaut, I know these things,” Kaito argues. “Just, stop overreacting.”

“But you’re coughing up blood!” Tsumugi insists. “How is that okay? There’s so much!”

“I said it’s fine,” Kaito says and foolishly pulls himself up off the floor. 

He wobbles straight away and if it wasn’t for Maki’s steady hand he’d probably fall straight back onto the floor. Kaito furiously rubs as his mouth, cleaning up any extra blood with the sleeve of his jacket. It stains through the material and even marks the lighter jacket that Kaito is wearing underneath. Just how many layers is he wearing?

“Do you get cold easily?” Kokichi asks him.

“H-Huh?” Kaito blinks. “Is no one else really cold?”

“No,” Rantaro answers, his eyebrows knitting together.

“Well shit,” Kaito says. “I thought Monokuma was keeping this place cold on purpose or something. Maybe it’s just me or something…”

“You need to go back to bed,” Maki tells him. “You’re using too much energy.”

“Maki, I’m fine,” Kaito insists. “I doubt Kiyo would want to sit in my room all day.”

Kiyo hums nonchalantly. “I actually wouldn’t mind a nap. I think that your couch will suffice for a couple of hours.”

“See,” Maki huffs. “So go back to your room. I don’t want to see you at least until tomorrow.”

“T-Tomorrow?”

“I suppose it is nearing night time,” Tsumugi frets. “At this rate, I don’t think I’ll get everything done in time.”

“Don’t worry,” Rantaro reassures her. “We can spend the night sorting things out. We just need to make decorations, right? We might as well sort out food tomorrow since we’ll want it fresh.”

“Yes, that certainly is a smart idea,” Kirumi says. She passes a bag of frozen peas over to Kokichi. “Keep this against your cheek. It should stop it from hurting too much.”

“Yeah, yeah,” Kokichi grumbles, flinching as he presses the bag next to his cheek. “It still really hurts.”

“Whatever,” Maki mutters. “You deserved it.”

“Ouch! You wound me, Harumaki!”

“S-So!” Tsumugi quickly says. “Um, Saihara and I will go to Angie’s lab and get the stuff we need for decorations. Amami, can you and Iruma sort out the A/V room? I think there will be enough space for everyone to work in there. Yumeno, can you and Tojo check the warehouse for anything else for us to use? I haven’t had a proper look around inside so maybe there’ll be something important!”

“If that is your request,” Kirumi bows. “Let’s go, Yumeno.”

Himiko sighs quietly. “This is such a pain.”

“Let’s go, Saihara!” Tsumugi says as she pulls on his arm. “We’ll be quick, I promise!”

Rantaro wavers as he watches the group of four leave. Kokichi is still sat on the chair, pouting as he presses the bag of peas to his cheek. Maki is looking anywhere but at Kokichi. Kaito is still rubbing his mouth. Kiyo looks rather out of place. 

“Shouldn’t you get going?” Kokichi hisses at him. 

“I just want to know if you’re okay,” Rantaro responds.

Kokichi rolls his eyes. “I wouldn’t be a supreme leader if I couldn’t take a hit. Don’t you know anything, Amami?”

“But that looked like it hurt,” Rantaro quietly says. “You didn’t deserve-”

“Wow, Amami is really boring me!” Kokichi cries loudly. Everyone turns to look at him. “Don’t you have somewhere to be? I know I do! Come on, Maki!”

Maki glowers at him as Kokichi snatches her hand and marches her off. He leaves the bag of peas on the table. 

“We should get going too,” Kiyo says as he stretches his arms. “I hope that I get some sleep this time.”

“I rather be helping out with the party,” Kaito admits. “But I need to keep my strength up for my sidekicks! I want them to have a great party tomorrow!”

“Don’t worry,” Rantaro reassures him with an easy smile. “I’ll make sure everything runs smoothly.”

“Great!” Kaito seems less hesitant to go to his room. “Thanks, Rantaro! I knew I could rely on you!”

“Rantaro?”

Kaito blinks. “Well, yeah! We’re bros, aren’t we?”

Rantaro grins. “Then I guess I’ll call you Kaito then.”

“Of course!”

Kaito whistles as he and Kiyo head towards the dorms, fading away into the orange sunset as they near the glass building.

“Guess we need to sort out the fucking A/V room,” Miu mutters as she pulls Rantaro into the dining hall. “And here I thought I was finally going to get a decent sleep tonight.”

“Oh,” Rantaro flushes. “You aren’t tired or anything, are you? I should’ve asked whether or not you wanted to join in with us.”

“I’ve got no choice, do I?” Miu snaps back. She then trembles. “B-But it’s not like I care or a-anything. It’s been ages since I’ve been to a party. Or been invited.”

“Then I’ll have to make sure it’s amazing then,” Rantaro says as they head downstairs towards the A/V room. 

“Yeah, whatever.”

He slides the door open and scans the room. It’s rather spacious. The couch that sits in the middle of the room can easily be pushed to the side to create more space. There’s some fold up tables that are balanced against the wall that they could unfold if needed. Rantaro looks at the shelves that are full of DVDs. They won’t be helpful but maybe he could put one on whilst they work as background noise. He plucks two from the wall. 

“Do you prefer a documentary on inventors or magic tricks?” Rantaro asks. 

“Magic tricks, duh!” Miu tilts her head. “Who needs a documentary on inventors when you’ve got me already! What? Are you not satisfied with my body?”

“I didn’t even say anything about your body,” Rantaro points out as he places the disc into the player. “You know what, nevermind.”

Miu huffs as she crosses her arms. “So what do we do?”

Rantaro pauses. “Um, Iruma, I’m not trying to be rude but-”

“But what?”

“You can’t see, right?” Rantaro says. “Is this going to be too difficult for you?”

Miu sweats. “H-How did you know?”

“Iruma, it’s pretty obvious,” Rantaro explains. “Your eyes must’ve been damaged when Kiibo blew up. You were quite close to him when it happened and everything did go bright…”

“Well,” Miu pouts. “It’s not like it matters too fucking much. I’m still functioning. Are you saying just because I can’t see I’m useless?”

“That’s not it at all!” Rantaro panics. “I can help you move around if you want. Tell you when there’s a wall or-”

“I don’t need your help,” Miu snaps. “Seriously. I’ve already invented something to help me so just fuck off, okay?”

Rantaro hesitates. “You invented something even though you can’t see? That’s really impressive, Iruma.”

“W-Well,” Miu rolls a strand of her hair around her finger. “M-Maybe I d-did get a little help. But I don’t need any fuckers help here. I’ve got my own...inner voice that helps me.”

“Oh? So does it tell you when you’re going to walk into something?”

“Yeah! Something like that!” Miu beams. “But you can’t tell anyone else about it though! I’m only trusting you because they’re telling me it’s okay. I fucking trust my inner voice more than any of you virgins here.”

“That’s fine,” Rantaro says. “I’m glad that you’ve got something to help you.”

“Me too,” Miu murmurs quietly to herself. “A-Anyway! So we gotta move the fucking couch, right?”

\---

Waking up is rather awkward. 

Rantaro tries to figure out how Miu ended up using him as a pillow. Or rather a stuffed animal perhaps? Anyway, she’s snoring on top of him and has him in a rather tight grip. Occasionally, she mutters something in her sleep before shuffling around. Since she’s still wearing her heels, every time she kicks Rantaro’s shin in her sleep it causes a rather painful jabbing feeling in his legs. 

“Can someone help me?” Rantaro asks as he looks around the A/V room. He knows Tsumugi is awake because she’s been laughing at him for the last ten minutes. Kirumi is awake too and has been trying to figure out how to move the inventor without waking up. So far, she can’t think of anything.

“This is rather unfortunate,” Kirumi says as she clicks her tongue. “She’s almost looks like an octopus.”

As if Miu hears her, she begins to squeeze tighter. 

Rantaro sighs loudly. “This is getting really uncomfortable.”

“Maybe we should just wake her up?” Tsumugi suggests in between giggles. “The morning announcement is going to play any minute anyway.”

“Even so,” Kirumi says. “I’ve heard Iruma is a rather scary individual if she’s woken up.”

“Yumeno?” Rantaro asks desperately. “Do you have a spell that can perhaps help?”

Himiko, who is sat on the couch with a blanket around her shoulders, stares blankly at him. Then, like a cat ready to knock a glass off the table, she knocks over one of the boxes that have been left on the table. The entire time, she stares at Rantaro in the eyes and he thinks that maybe he’s just witnessed the most scariest thing in the world.

The box doesn’t make much noise itself but since it was full of supplies, they instead make quite a bit of noise when everything hits the floor. 

Kirumi sighs as a jar of glitter explodes onto the floor. 

Thankfully, Himiko’s plan works as Miu jolts up and wildly moves her head around.

“Is someone being fucking miurdered?” Miu asks and Rantaro goes to answer only to realise that she has a hand against her ear. He keeps quiet as she listens intensely.

However, Tsumugi also opens her mouth to answer. “Um, no. Although I suppose you would’ve killed Amami since you were hanging onto him so tightly.”

“H-Huh?” Miu pauses before letting out a loud shriek. She flies from Rantaro as if he’s burning hot. “Y-You pervert! T-Trying to t-take advantage of a goddess like me during my s-sleep!”

“It really wasn’t like that,” Kirumi sighs as she starts to put all the jars back into the box. 

“You fell asleep on top of me,” Rantaro reminds her. 

Miu huffs. “W-Whatever.”

She screams again however when the A/V room door slides open and Kaito launches himself inside, gripping on tightly to a tired looking Kiyo. He lands loudly on his feet and inspects the room desperately. 

“Did you all find a body? Fuck, it’s too soon for someone else to be-”

“No one died, Momota,” Kirumi informs him. “We just had a rather...interesting situation to sort out. That is all.”

“Oh,” Kaito says as he drops Kiyo’s hand. “What happened?”

“Amami was trying to get a grab of these!” Miu groans as she gestures heavily to her chest with flushed cheeks. 

“Iruma fell asleep on me,” Rantaro quickly clarifies. 

“How unfortunate,” Kiyo sympathetically says. 

“So everyone is okay?” Kaito asks. “That’s great!”

“Are you feeling better yourself, Momota?” Tsumugi questions. “Because last night-”

Kaito shakes his head. “What happened last night was just a one off, I promise! You all have nothing to worry about. It’s a hero’s job to make sure that everything is okay and I can’t be a hero if I’m not in top form! So you all don’t have to worry about me! It’s my job to worry about everyone else!”

“Even me?”

Kaito turns around and pulls a face when he sees Kokichi and Maki standing in the games room. Kokichi waves happily whilst Maki seems to be frowning. What’s strange is that she isn’t exactly frowning at Kokichi but instead at Kaito. 

“You both look exhausted,” Tsumugi says. “Did either of you sleep?”

“He kept wandering around all night,” Maki explains, glaring at Kokichi. “It put me on edge.”

“Sharing a room with an assassin also puts me on edge!” Kokichi easily responds. “So now we’re even!”

“Did either of you even sleep?” Rantaro asks. 

“No,” Maki answers. “And it’s all his fault.”

“But my cheek really hurt!” Kokichi whines as he tilts his head. His pale cheek has a large purple blotchy mark on it. It does look rather painful. “Momota, you meanie!”

Kaito crosses his arms as he looks at the bruise. “Maybe I did over react a little…”

“He deserved it,” Maki tells him. “Don’t apologise.”

“Yeah but,” Kaito hesitates. “Nah, forget it.”

“So I don’t even get an apology?” Kokichi raises an eyebrow. “How rude!”

He jolts when the morning announcement suddenly plays on the monitor. The students wait for it to finish before they start their conversation again. 

“Ah, good morning, Saihara,” Kirumi says as the detective finally wakes up. He had shared the couch with Himiko although they did sleep on opposite ends. However, due to their small nature neither of them actually touched during their sleep. 

Shuichi rubs his eyes and looks like he wants to be anywhere else but this room. 

It doesn’t help when Monokuma walks through the doors looking especially smug. “Good morning everyone! I spent a while looking for you all since most of you didn’t actually sleep inside your dorm rooms!”

“We did!” Kaito splutters as he grabs onto Kiyo’s hand and raises it high in the air. “We both slept together in my room!”

“You both did what?!” Miu cackles. 

Kiyo tugs his hand away. “Cease your awful thoughts at once.”

“H-Hee…”

“We slept inside of Harumaki’s lab!” Kokichi claims proudly. 

“Only because you wouldn’t let me inside your room,” Maki snaps. 

“Duh, you wouldn’t let me inside of yours either!”

Maki pouts. “I shouldn’t have to offer up my room.”

“Anyway!” Monokuma loudly announces over everyone. “Great news! I’ll be swapping partners around today during lunch time! You know, to mix things up a little bit. Saihara, I won’t be needing your hat again though.”

“Why not?” Rantaro asks, already feeling like something bad is about to happen.

Monokuma grins. “Because I have this!”

He pulls out a white backpack from behind his body. 

“Akamatsu’s backpack?” Kirumi frowns. “You really are a horrible bear.”

“It even came with some things Akamatsu kept very dear!” Monokuma reveals. “Like this!” 

He pulls out a shot put ball and laughs. The real kicker is when Monokuma also pulls out a bottle of poison and starts to swirl it around. 

“Get out of here!” Kaito yells as he rolls his sleeves up his arms. 

Maki’s fists clench. “Leave.”

“Now, now! There’s no need to be so hostile!” Monokuma sighs. “She also left this behind!”

He carelessly throws a music note shaped hairpin onto the floor. 

Kaito quickly picks it up and dusts it off. “Hey, be careful with that!”

“It’s worthless anyway,” Monokuma says as he walks away. 

“He really is a piece of shit,” Miu says with a scowl.

“He certainly isn’t doing himself any favours,” Tsumugi admits. “I hope he doesn’t ruin the party.”

“We’ll just ignore him,” Kirumi says. “As difficult as that sounds, it probably may be the easiest thing to do.”

“He still pisses me off,” Kaito huffs. “Here bro, you probably want this.”

He hands the hairpin over to Shuichi, who holds it delicately before sliding it into his pocket silently.

“Hey, are you all forgetting something?” Kokichi asks. “We’re all going to get new partners! Isn’t this wonderful!”

“Yes,” Maki says with a nod. “It is.”

“I wonder why he’s swapping partners around already?” Tsumugi asks. “There isn’t much point, right?”

“Maybe he doesn’t like the combinations,” Kirumi suggests. “Although I fail to see why.”

“Because he doesn’t want everything to be too boring, duh!” Kokichi rolls his eyes. 

“I see,” Kiyo hums. “I suppose that he is the one who is watching us all the time and Monokuma does only do things for his own amusement.”

“I hope I get to be partners with Maki again!” Kokichi suddenly yells, grabbing onto her arm tightly. “She’s my best friend!”

“You said she belonged trapped in the tunnels,” Kirumi points out. “How on earth is-”

“He’s just being a brat,” Maki says as she harshly knocks the boy away from her. 

“Tsk, just because I’m not your beloved Momota!”

Maki glowers at him with a dark flush.

“Anyway,” Kirumi says before clearing her throat. “I suppose that we should all work together to set up for Shirogane’s party. I shall prepare the food unless anyone has any objections to that?”

“I think you’re probably the best suited person to do so,” Kiyo admits. “Now, I think it’s only fair if Momota and I were given a less strenuous task considering Momota’s current condition.”

“Listen, man. I already said I’m fine!” Kaito insists, putting a fist to his hip. “So just stop-”

“You and Momota can set up the tables,” Maki tells Kiyo. 

“But-”

“It’s for the best,” Rantaro says to Kaito sympathetically. 

“Saihara and I will hang up the decorations!” Tsumugi cheerfully announces. She gestures to the boxes of paper chains and other decorations that the group of six had spent the night making. “We’ll make sure to make the area look really pretty!”

“Yeah, yeah,” Miu sighs. “I’ve already figured out what Amami and I need to do so you can just skip us!”

“Oh, um, okay!” Tsumug says as she blinks. “Harukawa, can you and Ouma perhaps help Tojo with the food? Ah, I know that you’ll be super efficient, Tojo! It’s just that we’ll need a lot of food and-”

“I don’t mind,” Kirumi responds with a brief smile. “I’ll accept any help gratefully.”

“Great!” Tsumugi claps her hands together. “Then let’s get to it, everyone!”

Rantaro watches as the rest of the room heads out of the A/V room in pairs. Finally, when it’s just him and Miu he starts to speak. 

“What is it that we’re doing, Iruma?”

“U-Um,” Miu sweats as she rubs her legs together. “I-I need you to keep another secret.”

“Another one?” Rantaro blinks. “It won’t harm the group, will it?”

“Of course not!” Miu snaps. “Who do you think I am?”

“I was just asking.”

“Anyway,” Miu continues. “We need to head to the computer room or something.”

Rantaro raises an eyebrow but allows Miu to take him to the computer room. She seems nervous as she drags him there, her eyebrows pressed together and her lips in a tight straight line. It almost seems that she’s feeling rather desperate. 

Miu makes sure to firmly close the door behind them. “Right so…” Miu puts her hands on her hips. “There should be like some headsets around the computer, right?”

“Yeah,” Rantaro says. “But...there’s only nine of them.”

“Eh?” Miu blinks. “N-Nine?”

Rantaro frowns. It is rather strange that there’s only a specific number of headsets in this room. It’s almost as if the room had been made beforehand and that there’s only supposed to be nine survivors right now and not ten. Rantaro swallows heavily. 

“Right, I guess we can sort that out later,” Miu says, trying her best to ignore her quickening heartbeat. “So, basically we need to plug in the headsets and put them on.”

“...why?”

“Because!” Miu throws her hands up in frustration. “My inner voice says it’s really important!”

“Okay, okay!” Rantaro puts his own hands up in defence even though Miu can’t exactly see them. He sits down on one of the low seats as picks up one of the headsets. “Are you going to wear one too?”

“W-Well,” Miu stutters. “I want too but what if someone comes in and tries to fucking choke me or something?”

“That’s rather specific,” Rantaro muses. 

“It could happen!” Miu snaps. “You can choke anyone with almost anything! Even toilet paper!”

Rantaro pauses before setting the headset back down. “Would you feel better if I blocked off the door with some chairs?”

“Yeah!” Miu lights up. “So hurry up! I’m waiting!”

She storms over to one of the chairs and starts to fiddle with one of the headsets as Rantaro starts to stack chairs in front of the door, blocking his only way of escape. He realises this as he sets down the second chair and wonders if he should move them out of the way so he really does have a way of escaping should something go wrong. However, when he looks back at Miu he sees that she’s once again muttering to herself. She can’t be dangerous, right?

In the end he makes sure the chairs are only blocking half of the door. If someone were to push open the door then they wouldn’t be able to get in but if they pushed hard enough then eventually the chairs would move. Still, it’s rather unlikely that another student would come into this room. 

He sits back down next to Miu, who is about to put her headset on. 

“Well, are we both going to be safe?” Miu asks. 

“I’m pretty sure we are,” Rantaro reassures her as he plugs in the wires to the headset. “So, about this computer.”

“We should be going somewhere amazing, baby!” Miu laughs as she places her headset on. The moment she does, her body goes limp and Rantaro feels startled. 

“Iruma?”

Is she okay? Rantaro takes a deep breath before putting his headset on.

Everything goes dark.

And then…

Rantaro looks down at himself. 

“Um…”

“Isn’t this fucking great?!”

He spots Miu (is it really Miu? She’s looking rather..different) with a hand on her hip. 

“We got in successfully!” Miu cackles. “Fuck yeah!”

“Did you know about this place?” Rantaro asks. He catches a glimpse of himself in the mirror and pauses. “Why do we look so different?”

“We do?” Miu pauses. “Fuck it, who cares!?”

“I’m more concerned that you knew this place existed,” Rantaro admits.

Miu groans loudly. “Does it really matter? Apparently Monokuma was gonna use it for a motive or some shit but uh, things changed I guess? I don’t really know the details but apparently this is the safest place to be!”

“Really?” Rantaro brightens up. 

“Well, only for a couple of hours at a time,” Miu responds. “We still need to look after our bodies outside of this world. I mean, you don’t need to shit in this world but our real bodies will so we’ll have to leave every so often so we all don’t shit ourselves!”

“So this world,” Rantaro says as he looks around. “Why does it exist?”

“I just said Monokuma was gonna use it for a motive!” Miu sighs loudly. “Weren’t you listening? I was told to go here since it’s been altered! There was all sorts of dangerous shit here but that’s all been deleted! So now we can all just live here peacefully I guess.”

Rantaro falters. “But...the outside world.”

Miu sweats. “Yeah we still need a way out but isn’t it safer to keep everyone here for now? Monokuma can’t touch us if we’re not breaking any rules and if we keep everyone here then there can’t be a murder! As long as all you virgins make sure not to log out without telling anyone else then everything will be fine, right?”

“I guess,” Rantaro admits. He needs to think positive. Miu has maybe given everyone a potential paradise to stay in if push comes to shove. 

“A-Also,” Miu continues. “I guess this place might be good for space nut. He’s fucking dying, right? If he stays in here then he’ll be letting his body rest instead of running around like a nutter. I’ll get on that stabby bitch’s good side if I tell her I’ve created something that will potentially save her stupid boyfriend, right?”

“Oh.” Rantaro blinks. “Do you think this place might slow down Kaito’s illness?”

“Fuck if I know!” Miu responds. “But like I said, all our bodily needs don’t matter in this place. Illness doesn’t exist here. So, even if Momota’s body is slowly dying, maybe this place will give him a chance to last longer.”

“Iruma, that’s amazing!” Rantaro says. “This place could save Kaito’s life!”

“D-Don’t get your h-hopes up too much,” Miu nervously reminds him. “Just because he’ll feel better here, it doesn’t mean that his actually body is getting any better. This place won’t fix him, it’ll just give him some temporary relief. Oh, which reminds me! You can still have some steamy fun here without any of the worries!”

“That’s...nevermind,” Rantaro sighs. 

“I still can’t fucking see though,” Miu adds bitterly. “I was hoping that...you know what. Who cares? Once everyone finds out that I’ve discovered this place then I’ll get all the praise in the world! Hell yeah!”

Rantaro smiles at her. “Is it okay if we explore the place first before leaving? I want to see what I’m dealing with.”

“Yeah, whatever.”

Together they explore the cosy mansion. It’s rather spacious and since they’re both now rather small, everything seems to be a little bit bigger. Inside of the mansion is a dining room, a kitchen and what seems to be a study. There’s also a set of stairs that go to the roof. Rantaro blinks when he gets outside. It’s snowing! 

“Wow,” Rantaro glances around. “Iruma, it’s snowing!”

“Of course you’d be excited to see a load of white stuff!” Miu smirks. “But yeah, this place was supposed to be a beach or some shit but it got changed around dramatically. Basically, whoever changed it made it like the complete opposite of what it was supposed to be. Still, it’s pretty fucking cool, right?”

“Yeah, it is.”

He peers over the railings. It’s quite a distance from the top of the roof and the stone floor below.

“Oh, I almost forgot!” Miu quickly says. “Make sure you don’t fall off the roof or some shit. Your avatar will be fine but your actual body will receive the damage. You’ll probably go into shock or something. You might not die but it’ll really fucking hurt.”

“Noted,” Rantaro says as he backs away from the edge.

“Also things can’t be destroyed here,” Miu adds. “So if you want to be kinky and rip someone’s clothes off then you’re out of luck!”

“Oh. What a shame.”

“W-Well if you asked me n-nicely I would a-always take my clothes off for you-”

“Moving on!” 

They head outside of the mansion and onto the stone path. From what Rantaro can see, there’s only snow and trees surrounding the mansion. He wonders how long the novelty of seeing snow will last for before realising how dull the simulation actually is. 

Rantaro takes the two of them into the woods to quickly investigate. Behind some of the trees, he finds some monocoins which he pockets. However, he jumps when he finds something rather out of the place hidden under the snow. He bends down and picks up a cartoonish looking flashback light. 

“What?” Miu asks when she realises that Rantaro hasn’t spoken in a while. “Did you find a tree shaped like a dick or something?”

“No, it’s…” Rantaro moves the torch from one hand to another. “There’s a flashback light.”

“Another one?!” Miu startles. She furiously puts her hand to her ear. “Oi! I thought you said that you got rid of everything dangerous? Why the fuck is there a flashback light here?!”

Rantaro waits nervously as Miu furiously yells. She groans loudly when it seems she doesn’t get the answer she wants. 

“They don’t know anything about it,” Miu states. “So who knows why the fuck it’s here.”

“Was it designed for the program?”

“Probably?” Miu puts a hand on her hip. “I mean, it’s not like it can be destroyed and we can’t exactly take it out of the program either. It was probably designed to only be used here.”

“Then what should we do?” Rantaro asks. “Should we check it in case it’s dangerous? What if someone else finds it and it’s just bad news?”

“Or what if it’s super important and some fucker decides to keep information from us?” Miu points out. “I mean, we can always use the flashback light again if it is super important, I suppose. But first come first served baby! Let’s turn this bad boy on!”

Rantaro hesitates before he turns the flashback light on. 

He regrets it straight away. 

There’s nothing left. The meteorites have destroyed the world. All that remains are broken down buildings, fire that consumes everything in its path and just…

Nothing. 

There’s nothing left.

Everything is gone.

Everyone is gone.

“Oi, Casanova!” Miu suddenly snaps her fingers. “What was on that thing anyway? I didn’t see shit and my ear piece is being completely fucking useless right now.”

“Huh?”

“Jeez!” Miu sighs. “And I thought you were one of the smart ones. I said, what the fuck did you see?”

Rantaro holds the flashback light close to him. He can feel dread creeping, slipping through the cracks and threatening to take over. What is this feeling? From somewhere from the back of his mind, he thinks that he’s experiencing something that calls itself despair. That’s a fitting name. Despair. 

What happened to his family? His sisters?

“Seriously, is someone going to tell me what’s going on?!” Miu demands noisily. “Just tell me-”

“Nothing.”

“Huh?” Miu raises an eyebrow. “What the hell is that supposed to mean?”

“It’s nothing,” Rantaro repeats. He feels cruel. He knows that there’s nothing but for now, he can’t just...tell everyone that there’s nothing left for them. What would happen if he just told everyone that oh hey, by the way everyone who has died so far really died for no reason! There’s no point for any of us to try and escape here! We’re probably the only people left on the planet yet we have to kill each other! What! Joy! 

“Huh,” Miu sighs. “Well, that’s boring.”

Rantaro doesn’t say anything. He hugs the flashback light close to him. Even though he feels like he’s sinking, he thinks that he needs to get rid of the flashback light. He needs to hide it somewhere. Even though he feels like he’s walking through quicksand, he turns away from Miu and continues forwards. 

“Hey, where do you think you’re going?!” Miu turns red as she clumsily follows after him. “Why are you acting so shifty! You aren’t hiding anything, right?”

“Of course not,” Rantaro quietly tells her. “I’m just going to...put this somewhere else for now.”

“Eh? Why?”

He doesn’t respond. He finds a bridge and crosses it, ignoring that he had just tramped over a sign instead of actual wood. Rantaro pauses for a moment when his body feels like it’s being moved automatically. He slowly blinks when he spots a new area that he never saw from the other side of the program. 

It doesn’t matter though. 

He heads towards the chapel that appears in front of him and heads inside. He registers all of the boxes in front of him and figures that he can just hide the flashback light in here for now. Rantaro puts the torch into a box and seals it shut before making sure to place as many boxes as possible on top of it. 

Rantaro doesn’t notice Miu nervously stand at the chapel entrance, looking uncharacteristically worried. “Um, Amami? W-What are you doing?”

“I’m just...having a look around,” Rantaro replies. “But I’m done now.”

“R-Right.”

Rantaro ignores the fact that Miu has decided to walk a couple of feet behind him. He doesn’t notice her terrified expression or how her face has gone from a pale white to a more fearful blue. She stays behind him the entire time until they get back to the mansion.

“S-So you just gotta say your name to the phone,” Miu instructs him. “Then you’ll be logged out.”

He picks up the phone and absently looks at it. How is he going to face everyone like this?

“Amami! Wait!”

Miu shuffles awkwardly.

“A-About the fucking flashback light,” Miu says. “T-There wasn’t a-anything bad on it, right? You would’ve said something if we were all in trouble?”

Rantaro lies. “Everything is fine.”

“Right,” Miu shifts her weight from one leg to the other. “R-Right.”

Rantaro puts the phone to his face and closes his eyes. “Rantaro Amami.”

\---

“Wow! Isn’t this party amazing!”

Kokichi pumps his fists as he glances around. 

It seems that Tsumugi and Shuichi have been rather busy for the last couple of hours. There’s dainty paper chains hanging around the majority of the school. Fairy lights dangle loosely from every tree available, lighting up the academy fittingly. The picnic bench has a pale blue cloth draped over it and a fold out table has been placed next to it for extra space. As well as that, one of them must’ve found a stereo since there’s music playing too. 

“They have done a good job,” Kirumi comments as she places a delicious-looking cake down at the center of the table. She had tried her best to create an elegant looking cake. It’s a Victoria sponge. She thought that would’ve been the safest choice to make as she wasn’t able to figure out everyone’s cake preference. Even so, there’s also a batch of cupcakes in the kitchen too just in case.

Himiko doesn’t say anything as she places a plate of cut watermelon onto the fold out table. She has a bandage wrapped around one of her fingers from where she had tried to cut the melon herself and failed rather miserably. 

“Where’s Momota?” Maki asks as she carefully puts down a jug of lemonade. The ice cubes rattle loudly against the glass jug and bubbles rise up to the surface. Maki wipes her slightly damp hands on her skirt, wet from the cold glass. 

Kokichi smirks. “Is he all you care about?”

“At the moment, yes.”

Kirumi sighs. “Children, please.”

Kokichi snorts as Maki huffs loudly. “I just want to know where he is…”

“I’m sure he’s just in his room with Shinguji,” Kirumi responds. “Now please can we head back to the kitchen with no arguments? If I see one of you so much look at the other one funny then I will ban you from the party.”

“Okay, mother!” Kokichi salutes dramatically before snatching Maki’s hand with a grin. 

“Your hands are cold,” Maki hisses as she tries to pull her hand away to no avail. 

Kokichi winks. “Just like my heart.”

Kirumi gently holds Himiko’s hand as they head back into the kitchen. She’s been watching over Himiko all day. Himiko hasn’t really said much or if at all, nothing. When the mage had cut herself when chopping the watermelon, Kirumi decided that maybe she could make some cupcakes with Maki instead. 

Then of course, Kokichi had to provoke Maki which ended with the assassin dumping an entire packet of flour over his head. That also meant that Maki had to take Kokichi to the showers to wash. 

When the two had left, Himiko seemed to move a little easier, breathe a little easier. Miraculously, she had taken off her hat when they had started on the sandwiches. Whilst Kirumi had done most of the work, Himiko did help by putting the sandwich fillings in. 

Now, Kirumi watches as Himiko picks up the plate of sandwiches and waits by the door to carry them outside. The mage blinks slowly as Kirumi picks up a tray full of cooked sausages and follows the maid outside. 

Kirumi spots Tsumugi and Shuichi leaving the academy together. The cosplayer seems rather happy and Kirumi wonders how forced that smile is. She notices that Shuichi doesn’t even try to hide his depression anymore and Kirumi wonders if Tsumugi is that oblivious or simply just doesn’t want to acknowledge it. Does she really think that one party is going to solve everything?

The maid carefully sets the sausages down just as Tsumugi reaches the table. 

“Wow! This all really looks amazing!” Tsumugi cries as she clasps her hands together. “You all did such a good job!” 

“I did most of the work!” Kokichi shouts as he darts down the path with a cream filled pie. “I even made this!”

“Um, what’s that on top of the pie?” Tsumugi asks with a stretched smile. 

“It’s a portrait of me, of course!” Kokichi proudly responds. “Don’t I look amazing?!”

“No,” Maki says as she makes sure to knock into Kokichi as she passes him. She places down a tray full of colourful jellies that have been set in different cups. “Shirogane, have you seen Momota?”

“Ah! He’s in his room right now!” Tsumugi tells her. “I think he’s changing or something.”

“Ooh, we better hurry!” Kokichi quickly says. “If we’re quick then maybe we’ll be able to see his perfect bod!”

“Shut up,” Maki grumbles and turns her head away, failing to hide her red cheeks. 

“Now we’re just missing Amami and Iruma!” Tsumugi says. “I haven’t seen them since this morning though.”

“I’m sure that they’re fine,” Kirumi says. 

“Yeah! Amami is too soft to kill anyone and Miu is too stupid!” Kokichi cries. “So they both skipped on helping because they’re super lazy or they’re having some steamy, hardcore-”

“Oh, there they are!”

Tsumugi excitedly points towards the academy doors. Both Rantaro and Miu slowly head down the steps together. Tsumugi’s smile drops when she notices rather quickly that they’re both acting rather...different. Rantaro looks the exact opposite of relaxed whilst Miu is constantly twitching her head around and rolling her hair around her finger. 

Miu seems slightly relieved when she reaches the group but starts to hug herself instead. “H-Has the party started?”

“No, we just finished it!” Kokichi sadly says. “It’s a shame too! We had a huge orgy and everything!”

“And you didn’t think to get me!” Miu cries bitterly. 

“No, the party hasn’t started,” Kirumi briskly says. “We’re just waiting for Shinguji and Momota to arrive now.”

“Oh,” Miu says before scowling. “So there’s no fucking orgy?”

Before Miu can vent out her disappointment, the dormitory doors open and Kaito and Kiyo both walk out together. Kiyo looks rather fed up whilst Kaito looks extremely different.

“Eh? What did you do to your hair?” Kokichi cries in dismay. 

“I ran out of hair gel,” Kaito responds with a pout. “Monokuma won’t give me anymore today.”

“We would’ve arrived ages ago but Momota didn’t want to leave,” Kiyo informs the group. “I’ve been stuck inside of his bathtub whilst he stormed around his bathroom. Honestly Momota, it’s just hair.”

“I bet you spend hours on your stupid hair,” Kaito retorts. “You’re always brushing it!”

“I want to look nice,” Kiyo responds, closing his eyes. “I couldn’t imagine myself with short hair.”

Kokichi’s smile grows. “I can help with that!”

“We’re aware you can,” Maki says, running her fingers through her short hair. 

“I think you suit your hair short, Harukawa!” Tsumugi says. “I’m not sure how you managed to have long hair and be an assassin. Wouldn’t that make you obvious? How did you manage to hide all your hair anyway?”

Maki opens and closes her mouth. It seems she doesn’t have an answer. 

“Oh well,” Tsumugi says as she shrugs her shoulders. “It doesn’t really matter, does it? Now that everyone is here we should start the party! Isn’t this so exciting?”

“Hell yeah!” Kaito cheers, pumping a fist into the air. “So, uh, what do we do now?”

“Ah, well,” Tsumugi bashfully responds. She reaches into her pocket and pulls out a piece of folded up paper. “I thought that since we haven’t done anything for anyone who has died so far, maybe we could say a couple of things about them? Nice things, of course. Just so we can remember them and...yeah. I really don’t know what to say.”

“That sounds like a nice idea,” Kirumi replies. “Do we have any photos of some sort too? I did find some flowers that we could perhaps place by them.”

“Yes!” Tsumugi says. “I put the pictures down the steps just outside of Chabashira’s lab. Monokuma gave them to me when I was looking for decorations. Um, they’re only in black and white though so…”

“It’s more than enough,” Kaito tells her. “So let’s start, I guess.”

He leads the group down the steps and sure enough, there’s six pictures that have been set up just outside of Tenko’s lab. There’s even some candles lit in front of each picture too. The small flames light up the pictures.

“Does anyone want to start?” Tsumugi asks nervously, shifting her eyes around the group. 

“Of course I do!” Miu says as she pushes her way the group. She grabs a bouquet of flowers from a wooden crate that has been placed by the pictures. “So I only knew Kiibo for a couple of days but he was the best fucker here out of the rest of you virgins. It’s real fucking sad that I never got to check out his body but he was always real nice to me.” She sighs. “I never really got to thank him about saving all of us. Because he did. If he hadn’t blown up when he did, then we’d all be fucking dead. So yeah.”

The group blinks at her words. 

“Are we supposed to clap or something?” Miu mutters quietly. 

“That would be highly inappropriate,” Kiyo responds, shaking his head. 

Miu sweats as she places the flowers by Kiibo’s portrait and goes to stand next to a rather amused looking Kokichi. 

“I’d also like to say something,” Tsumugi says as she picks up some flowers herself. “At first, when I saw Gonta I thought he was really scary! I actually screamed when I first saw him! Then, I dropped my glasses. I was really surprised when he started to help me look for them. I underestimated him. Gonta was really kind to everyone, even the more difficult people!”

Kokichi bows with a wink. 

“Gonta was great,” Kaito agrees. “He was a tank! Like, if I had to pick one person to fight Monokuma and would probably win, it would’ve been Gonta!”

“He even stayed with Amami when the mastermind was acting up,” Kirumi adds. “He was such a caring individual. I’m not sure if he knows it but he died a gentleman. I wish he was around longer to realise just how much of a gentleman he truly was.”

“Even I liked him!” Kokichi pipes up. “And I hate everyone here!”

“And everyone else hates you too,” Maki responds. 

“Guys,” Kaito sighs. 

“So we’re all super glad we got to meet you, Gonta,” Tsumugi says as she places the flowers down. “We’re all really happy that we got to meet the Ultimate Entomologist and the Ultimate Gentleman!”

“Right,” Kaito says as he picks up some flowers himself. “Hoshi. Fuck, man. I’m really sorry about the whole trial thing, you know?”

“He does know that Hoshi actually can’t hear him?” Kokichi whispers to Miu. 

Maki harshly elbows Kokichi. “Be quiet.”

“If I had known what was on your video,” Kaito trails on. “It was really shitty what Monokuma did to you, you know? I don’t think anyone here blames you for what happened. Even Gonta wouldn’t blame you. He wanted you to leave so badly and for you to find that someone. It sucks that I never tried hard enough to help you. You really did seem like someone I wanted to know. Like, I thought you were amazing! I didn’t care about your past.”

“That’s right,” Kirumi says. “Hoshi did seem like a wise person. I think we all regret not trying to get closer to him during his time here. He deserved so much better.”

“I thought he was super cool too!” Kokichi cuts in. “He w-was so n-nice to m-me!”

“Uh, right,” Kaito says as he clears his throat. He kneels on the floor as he places the flowers in front of Ryoma’s picture. “Listen, we all fucked up, Hoshi. We all should’ve just tried harder or noticed what you were going through. Man, if the circumstances were any different I would’ve even been your sidekick! So yeah, I really hope that you manage to find your family wherever you are.”

Kaito shuffles back to the group just as the awkward silence begins. 

“Um,” Tsumugi hops from one foot to the other. “Would anyone like to say anything else?”

“I do!” Kokichi announces as he picks up a bouquet of bright yellow flowers. “Hiya, Angie!”

Kaito narrows his eyes. “You better not start anything, Ouma.”

“Of course I won’t!” Kokichi replies. “Doesn’t everyone deserve a funeral? I just figured that no one else wanted to talk to Angie right now.”

He’s met with silence. Kokichi smugly smiles. 

“See! I’m always right!” Kokichi says. “Anyways, how are you doing, Angie? I’m not going to lie, I was super disappointed when I figured out that you poisoned Akamatsu! But I get it. You only wanted what was best for the group, riiight?”

“What is he doing?” Kirumi asks, raising a delicate eyebrow. 

“I mean, I don’t really get why you tried to poison her anyway,” Kokichi continues. “Maybe she wasn’t even your intended target! Who knows? But someone has to say something nice about you and trust me, Angie. You’re probably on the top of everyone’s shit lists right now. Don’t worry! I’ll soon take your place!”

“Ouma, are you going anywhere with this?” Tsumugi anxiously asks. 

“Of course I am so please stop interrupting me,” Kokichi quickly says. “Maybe nobody realises it right now but you really were only trying to help out the group. Don’t worry, Angie. I noticed. Although, maybe you should’ve thought of a different plan. Still, I could tell you were only being super nice to this bunch of meanies! You were only trying to give them a suitable home for them and how do they repay you? Murder!”

“Okay, Ouma! That’s enough!” Kaito yells as he pulls him back towards the group. 

Kokichi laughs as he drops the flowers so that they land in front of Angie’s portrait.

“Still, I suppose I understand where he is coming from,” Kiyo suddenly says. “It may sound cruel but she only wanted to get rid of the dangerous people. From the sounds of it, she was going to banish Harukawa and Akamatsu and take over the academy. During the time both of them were dangerous…”

“Shinguji,” Kaito says tightly. “Please, this isn’t the time.”

“Of course,” Kiyo responds. “But we’ve all been quick to judge Angie too harshly too. She did go too far but when you really think about it, she wasn’t as evil as we all thought.”

“That is true but what she did to Akamtasu was horrible,” Kirumi points out. 

“Ah, speaking of Kaede,” Kaito says. “Bro, do you want to say anything?”

The astronaut reaches into the crate of flowers and manages to find a bunch of pale pink flowers. He hands them over to Shuichi with a grin. 

“Um,” Shuichi fumbles with the flowers. “...”

“Akamatsu really tried to help us the entire time she was here!” Tsumugi suddenly says. “She took risks that the rest of us were too scared to take and acted like a true leader! I know I let her down because I went with Angie and all but I really did admire her. I feel like if things were different, we could’ve been really good friends!”

“I agree,” Kirumi says. “When things took a turn for the worst, Akamatsu was always there trying to help us. I never said it outloud but her determination inspired me. I always follow my saying of selfless dedication but Akamatsu was the one who truly showed me what that meant. I am proud that I was able to meet her during my lifetime.”

Miu nods in agreement. “Bakamatsu was a bit of an idiot and did some stupid things but I guess I understand what she was trying to do. She had some balls alright!”

“Even I thought she was a special girl,” Kiyo admits. “Yes, I am glad that I remained on her side during her final days. Watching her attempt the tunnels over and over again was a magnificent sight to see. My only regret is that I wasn’t a good enough guard for her. Akamatsu, my deepest apologies.”

“She was okay,” Kokichi says. “We probably could’ve had a worse leader.”

“I’m glad that I made her my sidekick!” Kaito cries, pounding his fists together. “I knew I was right to trust her! I knew it wouldn’t take long for her to surpass me! She wasn’t just a leader, she was a hero!”

Maki curls her fingers together and puffs out her cheeks. It seems like she has something to say but just doesn’t have the courage to say it. 

Even Rantaro remains quiet and instead wipes at his eyes that keep getting annoyingly damp. 

Himiko shifts from side to side. “I...really liked Akamatsu too.”

“So, bro?” Kaito rests an arm around Shuichi’s shoulder. “Do you have anything to say to Kaede? I’m sure she’s listening.”

Shuichi nods. “I do but…”

“Hey, no buts! If you have something to say then you’ve got to say it. Don’t live with regrets,” Kaito encourages him. 

“R-Right,” Shuichi says as he clears his throat. “Ah, I don’t know how to start. Um…I’m sorry.”

“Take your time!” Tsumugi pleasantly offers. “We’ve got all the time in the world!”

“Hey, Saihara!” Kokichi says. “What would you say to her if she was here now?”

“Huh?”

“Say if Akamatsu magically came back to life,” Kokichi suggests. “What would you tell her?”

“That...that I’m really grateful that I got to meet her,” Shuichi answers. 

“Anything else?” Kirumi asks softly. 

Shuichi nods again. “That I’m sorry for ever doubting her when she tried to kill the mastermind. At first I was so angry that she went behind my back. I was furious that she just allowed herself to almost throw her life away like that. I know that she wouldn’t want me to blame myself but every time I think about what could’ve happened…”

“But nothing happened,” Kaito reminds him with a grin. 

“That’s right,” Shuichi quietly says. “I never got to thank her for being my best friend. When I woke up here I was scared. Without Akamatsu, I don’t know what I would’ve done. She guided me through this even though she was scared herself. I just...I just want to see her one last time so I can thank her properly…”

Kirumi pulls out her packet of tissues from her pocket and presses them into Shuichi’s palm as he begins to sniff. “Don’t be embarrassed to cry.”

He nods and swallows heavily. It’s clear that he can’t speak anymore. 

“Let’s put these down for her,” Kaito says, gesturing to the pink flowers.

Together, the two of them knelt by Kaede’s photo and place the flowers down under her smiling face. 

Whilst they’re on the floor, Himiko quietly grabs the last bouquet of flowers from the crate. They’re red and look nothing like Tenko. Himiko thinks that Tenko would’ve loved them. 

Truthfully, Himiko doesn’t know what she wants to say. She hovers in front of Tenko’s portrait. Tenko is smiling in the picture, her eyes wide and full of life. Himiko thinks that Tenko looks beautiful. 

She plays with the flowers in her hand. Himiko feels so tired. She’s so, so tired. 

Yet…

“You wouldn’t want to see me like this, would you?” Himiko says to Tenko’s picture delicately. “You would be standing by my side right now and telling me that everything is going to be okay. You would make sure everything is okay. No, you’d force everything to be fine. Because...that’s what type of person you were. You always put everyone before yourself and I always hated that about you. At first, I just wanted you to leave me alone. I wondered why you had to pick me out of everyone.”

Himiko sniffs. 

“But I liked you. Really liked you. I never felt anything like I had felt towards you before. You made me feel safe and I really liked that. I was just too lazy to every show you how I felt yet somehow, I think you always knew. Is that why you never left me alone?” Himiko swallows. “I’m still really angry, you know? How could you die for me? How could you go through a punishment for me? It’s not fair…”

She jolts when Shuichi appears next to her and offers her a tissue. She gratefully takes one and starts to rub her eyes until they start to hurt. 

“I’m so angry, Tenko. But...I think I understand. I’m trying to understand but it’s not easy. At first I just really wanted to give up. I wanted to leave and find you like how you went to find Akamatsu,” Himiko continues. “But then that would mean that you would’ve died for no reason. I’ve been thinking over and over again what I should do and I’ve decided. I’m gonna live for you, Tenko! So...wherever you are I hope you’re proud of me! It’s gonna be really tiring so um, I hope everyone will look after the new me.”

“Of course we will,” Kirumi says with a smile. 

“We won’t let you down!” Kaito says as he puts a thumb up. 

“I’ll help too,” Shuichi gently offers, much to Himiko’s surprise.

“I thought that…” Himiko’s eyes shift over to Kaede’s portrait. “That you’d be mad at me.”

Shuichi shakes his head. “Blaming you won’t bring Akamatsu back. I think I’ll still need some time but...I’m not mad. We can’t change anything but I know that all Akamatsu wanted was for all of us to get along.”

Himiko nods and swallows a lump in her throat as she places the flowers down.

“I don’t want to say goodbye,” Himiko says thickly. “It sounds too final.”

“Maybe a see you later?” Tsumugi suggests. “Everyone will probably wait for us for years and years!”

“Yeah,” Himiko agrees. “Yeah, they probably will. So, um, Tenko? Can you wait for me? It’ll probably take a while until we get to see each other again but…”

“I’m sure she’s waiting,” Kaito cheerfully says, slapping a hand onto her shoulder. 

“So are we done?” Miu asks, acting rather calm for once. 

“I want to stay down here a little longer,” Maki suddenly admits. “There’s a couple of things I want to say but...it’s really embarrassing.”

Kaito blinks. “No problem, Maki! I think the rest of us should head back to the picnic then!”

He takes everyone back up the steps and towards the picnic table. Maki watches silently as the group leave, a couple of them turning back to look at the portraits one more time. She bites the inside of her mouth before walking up to one of the portraits, holding her hands in front of her and bowing her head. 

“I’m sorry, Akamatsu,” Maki says quietly. “I know you probably won’t hear this...this is so stupid. Listen, if you are somehow listening then yeah, I’m sorry. I jumped to a conclusion and hurt you because of it. I don’t think we could’ve been friends but you accepted me and that’s enough. So...yeah. I’ll keep an eye on both Momota and Saihara for you and everyone else I suppose.”

She turns away from the portraits and flexes her hands.

“But I also think I know who the true mastermind is. I won’t make the mistake I did with you and I’m going to prove that they’re the mastermind. Once I’ve got my proof, I’ll kill them. I’ll finish the job for you, Akamatsu.”

\---

Rantaro finds himself leaning against the wall behind the academy. He’s sat in the grass that swamps his legs. Each green strand strokes his leg but they offer no comfort. No, they really don’t. 

He feels bad that he didn’t say anything during the funeral but he couldn’t. After knowing what he knows...it would’ve just made the experience even more painful. He hated watching all of his friends say goodbye to everyone they have lost. It was so difficult. He had to look away when Himiko promised Tenko that she was going to improve herself. Rantaro had felt so sick.

How would everyone react if they knew there wasn’t anything to look forward to after this? The outside world is completely gone and there’s nothing left. Even if they did manage to get outside, there’s nothing for them. He doubts that there’s anywhere they could go. The most sickening part is that the only place they could turn back to is this cursed academy and back under the control of Monokuma and his stupid mind games. 

Maybe it would be better of if-

“Ehh? I didn’t expect to find you behind here!”

Kokichi puts his hands on his knees as he crouches. He tilts his head to the side.

“Ouma, not now.”

“But Amami didn’t say a single thing throughout the funeral and I really didn’t expect him to do that!” Kokichi responds. “I’m bored of hating you now so really, you have to tell me what’s wrong!”

Rantaro sighs. “There’s nothing you can do about it.”

“Oh, wouldn’t you like to know,” Kokichi smirks. “Everyone else has stopped being emo and now Amami has decided to become one too late! Honestly, it’s rather pathetic to watch. What’s so bad that you’re hiding behind the academy instead of being with everyone else anyway? Even I like being with them! Well, that’s a lie but still.”

“Ouma, go away.”

“First you practically stalk me and now that I’ve offered you my valuable presence, you tell me to go away! The nerve!” Kokichi cries dramatically as he flops onto the ground, putting his head on Rantaro’s lap. “Don’t tell me that you’re hiding something else from the rest of the group! It was really shitty the first time around, you know? You were the first person I thought I could trust and then it turns out you’re just a dirty liar!”

Rantaro barely cocks his head to the side. “Really?” 

“Nah, that was a lie too,” Kokichi says as he checks his nails. “But maybe I did really like you and maybe I’m really sad that you’re acting so emo. So maybe you should really tell me what’s wrong. Did Miu try to do something?”

“No.”

“Then?” Kokichi looks up at him expectantly. “What did you find out the world is ending or something?”

Rantaro jolts. “W-What?”

Kokichi raises an eyebrow as his face goes blank for a moment. “Oh. I see.”

“Ouma?”

“Hey, Amami,” Kokichi says. “A little bird told me that you saw a flashback light today and started to act strange afterwards. Did you see something really bad on it?”

Rantaro swallows before nodding.

“Wow! Amami must be really stupid to believe it then!” Kokichi cries. “Have you been believing in them from the start? Because I really wouldn’t recommend that.”

“But-”

“Say Amami, don’t you think it’s strange that Monokuma put us into partners?” Kokichi asks. “Obviously, he did it so someone would keep an eye on Saihara and Yumeno since they became all emo but is that really it?”

“I’m...not following.”

“Because you’ve only got one brain cell. Anyway, say it was the end of the world, which it isn’t, then a lot of things wouldn’t add up. How do we get all this fresh food? How does the electricity keep on running here? How come we haven’t even heard anything? If the world had ended then we’d all be in a bit of a pickle right now, huh?” Kokichi continues. “Lucky for us, there’s no way that the world has ended! Do you want to really know why?”

“...why?”

“Because we’re being watched,” Kokichi explains. “Not just by Monokuma but by others too. You see, haven’t you noticed how strict Monokuma is with the rules? He was desperate to start the killing game and gave us that time limit. But you see, Amami, he was simply bluffing. Kiibo died before anyone realised.”

“He was?”

“Right!” Kokichi nods. “But there’s a lot of things that Monokuma has done that doesn’t make any sense too. One of the biggest things is that he let Chabashira die instead of Yumeno. Now, he’s strict with rules, remember. So why on earth would he bend the rules like that?”

“Because…”

“For an emotional death! Entertainment, if you will. Monokuma’s paws had also been tied if you hadn’t noticed. He had a split vote but he could only kill one of them and he knew that. He had already disobeyed the rules once by ruining Akamatsu’s crime scene. He acts confident but I could tell he was sweating buckets when we realised. Who would want to watch something if it had been rigged from the start?” Kokichi says. “And when Chabashira didn’t vote, he was forced to put her through Yumeno’s punishment because he couldn’t allow there to be four deaths in one go.”

“I still don’t get it…”

Kokichi sighs loudly. “What I’m saying is that didn’t you find it strange that Yumeno’s punishment had been set up beforehand? The way he summons punishments suggests that he can summon them from thin air yet Chabashira’s punishment clearly was meant for Yumeno. The only want they personalised it was attempting to make the Monokuma’s look female.”

“So what you’re saying is…”

“The world can’t have ended because we’re clearly being watched,” Kokichi concludes. “I really have no idea what you saw but it’s probably Monokuma trying to trick us. If someone more emotionally unstable saw that flashback light, they would’ve tried to die and take as many people down with them. Which is also strange. Amami, where did you find that flashback light again?”

“Inside a computer Iruma had fixed,” Rantaro answers. “She mentioned that it was supposed to have been a motive.”

“It sounds like to me that the computer motive was scrapped for the partner motive,” Kokichi tells him with an easy smile. “And that no one was supposed to find that flashback light. So, Amami. What does that suggest to you?”

Hope. It suggests hope. “That there’s still a chance that the world still exists outside.”

“Riiight!” Kokichi grins. “So are you going to stop being emo now?”

Rantaro’s chest feels a lot lighter and he smiles for the first time since he had seen that awful flashback light. “Yeah, I think I will.”

“Jeez, finally!” Kokichi says. “Watching you act so sad was so pathetic. It even made me want to act all emo too.”

Rantaro allows himself to grin. “Thanks, Ouma.”

“Yeah, whatever,” Kokichi responds nonchalantly. “You probably would’ve figured it out sooner or later. I was just bored watching you act like a kicked puppy. It was getting sooo boring!”

“So we’re friends again, right?” Rantaro asks hopefully.

“I guess so,” Kokichi groans. “Since you’re so impossible! Everyone else finds it super easy to hate me so why do you forgive me for every little thing I do anyway? It’s making it super difficult to be evil around you.”

Rantaro hums. “I don’t know to be honest. I guess I just see you as my little brother or something. You honestly really do and say some shitty things but it always looks like it's an act coming from you.”

Kokichi pauses as his face goes blank. “So there’s absolutely nothing that will make you hate me?”

“I mean, probably,” Rantaro admits. “As long as you don’t kill someone or something like that without good reason then I think we’ll be good.”

“Huh,” Kokichi blinks before grinning. “Noted! Thanks for the advice, Amami!”

“H-Hey! I thought we were joking!”

“Of course we are!” Kokichi responds easily. He pulls himself up from the floor. “But it’s super boring around here and I’m super hungry! I’m pretty sure Monokuma is going to give us new partners soon anyway. Isn’t this so exciting?!”

“I guess so,” Rantaro replies as he pulls himself up from the grass. 

“I hope I get to be partners with Maki again!” Kokichi tells him as they head back to the group together. 

“For your sake, I hope you’re not,” Rantaro jokingly says.

“Well, we’ll just have to wait and see, won’t we?” Kokichi responds, putting his arms behind his head and grinning wildly.


	21. Chapter 21

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you all enjoy!!! Sorry if there's any mistakes! 
> 
> This took a little longer to finish as I had to rewrite at least over half of this chapter because I didn't like where it was going. The original chapter actually went in a completely different direction, actually! 
> 
> Thanks for reading!
> 
> Edit! I forgot to also say thank you all for 200 kudos! I'm glad people are enjoying my writing!

Crumbs trickle onto the table as Kirumi cuts into the cake. 

“Oh! There they are!” Tsumugi says as she jumps from her seat, waving wildly at Rantaro and Kokichi. 

“Please don’t knock the table,” Kirumi says as she starts to pass plates around. “It would be a shame to ruin all of our hard work, wouldn’t it?”

Tsumugi blinks at her and frowns. “I was just waving.”

Maki doesn’t seem too pleased to see Kokichi return but she does move to the side to give Rantaro some space to sit down next to her. Rantaro slips into the space whilst Kokichi sits opposite him, next to Kiyo. 

“Where did you go?” Maki asks as she hands him a plate. “No one knew where you went.”

“I just needed some air,” Rantaro responds with a smile. “The, um, funeral was just a little too much.”

“I noticed that you were rather quiet,” Kiyo observes. “I do hope that you’re feeling better.”

“I am, thanks.”

“Ouma hasn’t upset you or anything?” Maki questions as she spins a fork around in her hands. “Because if he has, all you need to do is ask and I’ll sort him out for you.”

“Maki, you really wound me!” Kokichi cries, wiping away fake tears. “What have I done to you?!”

“What haven’t you done,” Kaito responds with a sigh. “Guys, can we just have one peaceful lunch? That’s all I’m asking for.”

“It’s also rather disrespectful,” Kiyo adds. “This isn’t just any lunch. We’re trying to remember all those we have lost thus far.”

“That’s right!” Himiko says. “So if you both keep arguing then I’ll...then I’ll have to use my neo aikido magic on you both!”

“Neo aikido magic?” Tsumugi blinks. “That sounds impressive!”

“It sounds made up,” Maki deadpans. 

Himiko shakes her head. “Nuh uh! It’s real! I would do it right now but I have to eat something first.”

“So that means I still get to argue with Maki!” Kokichi happily points out.

Kaito groans. “No it doesn’t. Ouma, can you just cut it out for one day? Please?”

“Why? Is Momota getting tired?” Kokichi asks, leaning forwards and fluttering his eyelashes. “He does look a little tired. You have these huge bags under your eyes! Maybe Momota should go and lie down for a little! It’ll make it easier for me to kill you then!”

Kaito goes red with rage. 

“Ouma, don’t,” Rantaro says. “Just one lunch, yeah? After that you can argue with Kaito as much as you want.”

“Why would you give him that sort of power?” Kaito says as he starts to tremble in fear.

“Okay! Just for you, Ran-chan!”

“Ran-chan?” Kirumi raises an eyebrow as she places a slice of cake onto Maki’s plate. “Have you asked Amami if you can call him that?”

“It’s fine,” Rantaro responds easily. He doesn’t mind. As long as him and Kokichi are good, he doesn’t exactly care what he calls him. “I like it.”

“It does suit you,” Kiyo says with a nod. “Although it is also sounds rather cute. Do you see yourself as a feminine person, Amami?”

“Ah,” Rantaro responds with a smile. He rubs the back of his head. “Actually, my sisters used to call me that all the time when they were younger. It was either Ran or Taro but it never was Rantaro. I guess I spoiled them too much by letting them call me whatever they want.”

“That’s a really cute story!” Tsumugi gushes as she clasps her hands together. “You must really care for your sisters, Amami!”

“I really do,” Rantaro replies and ignores how his stomach suddenly drops. No, he can’t indulge in the thought that the world has ended. He just needs to hold onto that hope that they’re all still out there waiting for him. “I can’t wait to see them again. They’re all helpless without me. They always needed their big brother do do everything for them.”

Kiyo hums as he closes his eyes. “You truly are an inspiration, Amami. I do hope that one day I’ll get to meet your family too.”

“Me too!” Kokichi buts in. “I’ll teach your sisters all the tricks I know!”

“Please don’t,” Rantaro says as he pales. 

Himiko shakes her head. “You can’t! I’ll teach them _real_ magic! You don’t know anything about magic, Ouma! I can sense it!”

“Aw man,” Kokichi droops. 

Maki sighs as she plunges her fork into her slice of cake. “He’s coming.”

“Huh?” Kaito blinks. “What do you mean?”

“Ah,” Rantaro says as he frowns. “Monokuma. He’s heading down the academy steps.”

Kaito turns around and his expression sours. “That bastard. He’s still got Kaede’s backpack.”

“Just don’t do anything stupid,” Maki says as she shoves a fork into her mouth and bites down onto it.

“This is Momota we’re talking about,” Kokichi points out. “Everything that he does is stupid!”

“Ouma,” Rantaro quietly says with a loud sigh. 

Monokuma happily strolls towards the table, adjusting the white backpack with a grin. His paws are wrapped around the handles and the backpack bounces along with his every step. Once he reaches the table, he climbs onto a free seat and dumps the backpack right onto the centre of the table, barely missing the cake that Kirumi swipes away last second. 

“You all must know why I’m here!” Monokuma says as he opens up the backpack. “Your lovely headteacher has decided to give you new partners! The previous rules still apply, you all must stay in the same room as your partner. If I find out that you’ve all been in different rooms at different times then there will be some severe consequences!”

“Yeah, yeah,” Kaito says as he leans an elbow onto the table. “So are we doing this or what?”

“Poor Shinguji! You’re going to make him feel unwanted!” Kokichi sniffs. 

Kiyo shrugs. “I do find the idea of getting a new partner rather exciting actually. Momota will not be missed.”

Maki’s eyes go dark. “Do you want to repeat that?”

“Saihara, if you’ll do the honours of picking out the first name!” Monokuma says as he shoves the bag towards Shuichi. He shakes the bag tauntingly. 

Shuichi gives him a dirty look before carefully reaching into the bag and pulling out a piece of paper. He unfolds it and clears his throat. “Iruma.”

“Oh, oh!” Miu starts to bounce in her seat. “Let me pick!”

She leans over the table and snatches the bag. She places it onto her lap and starts to rummage through the bag, her tongue poking from her lips as she finally pulls out a piece of paper. She thrusts it towards Rantaro.

“Who did I get, who did I get!?”

“Tojo,” Rantaro says as he reads from the piece of paper.

Miu groans loudly. “Not that uptight bitch.”

Kirumi raises an eyebrow but doesn’t comment. 

Miu pushes the bag onto Himiko’s lap and the magician has the scramble so that it doesn’t fall onto the floor. She closes her eyes and takes a deep breath before reaching into the bag herself. 

“This is really exciting,” Himiko admits as she pulls out a piece of paper. “Oh, I pulled out Momota!”

Maki’s eye’s light up. “Pass me the bag.”

Himiko gulps as she passes the bag to Maki, who once again starts to go through the pieces of paper. 

“That’s cheating!” Monokuma squawks as he snatches the bag away from the assassin. She lets go of the piece of paper in her hand so that it flutters back into the bag. Monokuma lets out a loud breath. “I guess I’ll pick out a name myself!”

“I hope I get someone good!” Kaito says as he rubs his hands together. 

“I hope you get me!” Kokichi admits and grins when Kaito pulls a face. 

“Momota’s lucky partner is,” Monokuma reveals as he opens up a piece of paper. “Shirogane!”

“Oh!” Tsumugi’s eyes light up. “How exciting!”

Maki shoots a glare over in Tsumugi’s direction, clearly disappointed. 

“Okay, so our next couple is!” Monokuma delves back into the bag.

“Wait, couple?” Miu splutters.

“Amami!” Monokuma shouts and reaches for another piece of paper. “And Yumeno!”

“I see,” Himiko says before nodding. “I think that’s okay. I cast a spell that would put me with someone nice so my spell probably worked. No, it did work. My magic always works, you know?”

“No one is questioning your magic, Yumeno,” Kirumi reassures her. 

“That’s good,” Himiko responds. “Because then I’d have to set everyone’s pants on fire! Which is fine but I don’t know any spells that would put fire out.”

“May I suggest using water?” Kiyo tells her. 

Himiko stares at him. 

“Moving on!” Monokuma grabs another piece of paper. “Oh, well look who it is! Ouma!”

“I can’t wait,” Kokichi says as he turns his full attention onto Monokuma. “This is so exciting!”

Monokuma grins as he reaches back into the bag and scrambles his paw around. He hums before pulling out another folded piece of paper. He unfolds it and starts to laugh.

“What’s so funny?” Kaito asks nervously.

Only, Monokuma doesn’t respond. The paper falls from his paw and lands on the table facing upwards. ‘Harukawa’ is written in bold block letters. 

“Oh,” Rantaro says.

“Oh,” Kaito says.

“Oh,” Himiko says.

“Oh,” Kiyo says.

“Oh,” Shuichi says.

“Oh,” Kirumi says.

“Oh,” Tsumugi says. 

“Why are we all saying oh?” Miu cries. 

Kokichi rests his head onto the table. “Kill me now. Just do it. _Do it right now_.”

“Uh, Maki? You okay?” Kaito asks as he carefully puts his hand on her shoulder.

“I’m fine,” Maki says through gritted teeth. 

“You don’t look fine,” Kiyo responds. “Your eye is twitching.”

“I-I think we should move on!” Shuichi says quickly. “Um, so if Harukawa and Ouma are partnered up together again, then that means Shinguji and I are partners, correct?”

“Correct!” Monokuma answers. 

Rantaro thinks about the new partners. Miu and Kirumi. Kaito and Tsumugi. Kiyo and Shuichi. Maki and Kokichi. Finally, himself and Himiko. The partners aren’t too bad but he supposes he does feel a little bad for both Maki and Kokichi. 

“Can we swap partners?” Maki asks. 

“Absolutely not!” Monokuma barks, raising his paws up. “What’s the point of the paper system if we just swap everyone around! Besides, it’s more fun when the partners don’t like each other! I always love a little tension.”

“Yeah but.” Tsumugi shifts her eyes from side to side. “Isn’t this a little cruel? Harukawa and Ouma have already been partners. Why should they be partners again?”

“Because _I_ said so!” Monokuma responds. “Now if you excuse me, I have some work to do!”

He picks up the plate of leftover cake and leaves the picnic. He creates a trail of crumbs all the way back up to the academy. Kirumi eyes the trail with a tired look. 

“Well then,” Kaito says nervously. He still has his hand on Maki’s shoulder. “Maybe we should continue with the picnic? Yeah, let’s just do that.”

“What a good idea,” Kirumi agrees as she picks up the jug of lemonade. “Does anyone need a refill?”

“Oh, I do!” Himiko says as she lifts her empty glass up in the air. “I need all the energy I can get so I can use my magic! Something is telling me that I’m going to need it a little later on.” She warily eyes Maki and Kokichi. 

Rantaro also lifts up his now empty glass. “Could I have a refill too?”

“But of course,” Kirumi says with a smile. She carefully pours the lemonade into his glass. “Please do not hesitate to ask for another refill later on.”

“Is it just me or is Amami getting all the girls lately?” Kaito suddenly says. 

Rantaro chokes on his drink. “E-Excuse me?”

“He does have a point,” Kokichi unhelpfully agrees. “Amami, you’ve got Iruma, Shirogane and Tojo practically hanging off you! Even Maki is a lot nicer when your around! How do you do it? Do you sneak them off to the love hotel on a night or something?”

“That’s not it at all!” Rantaro yelps. 

“How come you haven’t tried to seduce me yet?” Himiko grumbles. “Am I that undesirable?”

“Well you’re partners with him now so…” Kokichi says with a wink. 

Kiyo holds up a hand. “Now hold on a second. We are all jumping to conclusions here. Maybe Amami isn’t into girls at all?”

Rantaro puts his head on the table loudly.

“Oh?” Kokichi’s eyes light up. “Are you going to protect all of the boys then, Amami?”

“Hey!” Himiko shouts. “You better not be making fun of Chabashira! In fact, I have decided to take over from her duties so now _I’m_ going to protect all of the girls! I know that we’re partners, Amami, but if you upset any of the girls then I’m going to have to use my magic on you!”

“But weren’t you upset a minute ago when...you know what, never mind,” Tsumugi says softly. She giggles behind her hand. 

“Oh yeah?” Kokichi challenges. “Well I’m going to protect all of the boys then! I’ll use my super secret leader skills on all the wicked girls that come near me!”

“Not if I use my magic first!”

Kirumi blinks as Himiko and Kokichi glare at each other. “I’m sorry but what on earth is going on?”

“I don’t know but this shit is amusing as fuck,” Miu responds as she leans back on her fold up chair heavily. 

“You’re all making Amami feel uncomfortable,” Maki suddenly says as she slams her fist onto the table. She quickly catches everyone’s attention. 

“Indeed, my apologies, Amami,” Kiyo says. “I was merely curious but it seems that I have crossed the line.”

“It’s fine,” Rantaro forces out as he lifts his head from the table. His cheeks are bright red. “I don’t know why so many people like me though.”

“It’s because you’re approachable!” Tsumugi answers for him. “I bet you had a lot of girlfriends before you arrived here! You seem like the type that everyone falls for since you’re so nice! I mean, it’s not like there’s much option here anyway.”

“Eh?” Kaito panics. “W-What’s that supposed to mean? I’m approachable too, you know! In fact, let’s go on a date right now!”

Maki’s face darkens. “Momota, stop being an idiot.”

Tsumugi sweats as she holds her hands up. “Don’t worry, Harukawa. I was going to politely decline anyway. You are sweet, Momota. It’s just...um…” She looks at Maki before quickly looking away. 

“Hah! Shirogane doesn’t think any of the boys here are cool apart from Amami!” Kokichi smirks. “What a let down!”

“You’re a boy too, ya dumbass,” Miu points out, jabbing her finger over in Kokichi’s direction. 

“Maybe I don’t want to date any of the girls here,” Kokichi fires back, crossing his arms. 

“I’m in agreement,” Kiyo says. “There aren’t many girls left here that I would even let my sister be friends with. It’s a shame really. Before, I had such a wide selection but now...well, I’m sure I’ll get over it.”

“Dude, when you say things like that you sound really weird,” Kaito says as he reaches over for a cup of jelly. “Isn’t your sister dead too?”

“You should learn how to use a little tact, Momota,” Kirumi sighs as she ends up passing Kaito a cup of jelly. “That was rather insensitive.”

“It’s fine,” Kiyo responds, closing his eyes. “He speaks the truth. I can only fantasize at this point.”

Tsumugi sniffs. “Poor Shinguji.”

“Hey, Yumeno?” Kokichi calls. “Shinguji is disrespecting women! Aren’t you going to do something about it? I thought you were going to protect all of the girls!”

“I am!” Himiko retorts. “I’m just...finishing my food first. I also can’t do magic on a full stomach so Shinguji can wait.”

“My hero,” Maki mutters as she stabs a piece of watermelon with her fork. 

Rantaro quietly sips on his drink, carefully making sure that the attention isn’t brought back onto him. Honestly, he really hadn’t noticed how he seems to be friendly with everyone and apparently especially with the girls. He’s friends with Maki because of the whole secret situation. He’s always liked Kirumi from the start. Tsumugi seems sweet enough and is always nice to him. Miu...Miu is Miu. He likes her but definitely not in a way where he would consider dating her. 

He realises that he hasn’t really spent that much time with Himiko. It’s probably because Tenko was always with her and Rantaro didn’t really want to get in a fight with her. At least he’s partners with her now and will probably get to know her a little. 

“Well that was certainly something,” Kirumi says as she awkwardly takes a seat at the table. She makes sure to sort her skirts out. “Amami, I hope things weren’t too uncomfortable for you. I would like to think that everyone at the table was just merely teasing you.”

“We were only teasing? Like foreplay?” Miu blinks. “Well fuck, why didn’t you say so! If you wanted me to-”

“Iruma,” Maki complains. “Stop.”

“Heeee!”

“But it was sort of fun!” Kaito suddenly says. “Like, maybe it was a little embarrassing for Amami but it was nice.”

“Yeah, it was,” Shuichi agrees quietly. “Everything just seemed normal.”

Tsumugi smiles wide. “I knew having a picnic was going to be a good idea! It was just what we all needed!”

“Quite right,” Kiyo nods. “Thank you for organising this, Shirogane. Even if it was just for a day, it was nice to spend some time together and remember everyone.”

“How about we keep the pictures up?” Kaito suggests. “It would feel wrong just to move them now. I’m sure no one here will vandalize them. Sure, Monokuma is probably shitty enough to ruin them but maybe for once he’ll just let things be?”

“Hopefully,” Himiko says. “But you never know with Monokuma.”

“Fuck him!” Miu says. “Even if he does destroy those pictures he didn’t get to ruin the funeral! He can't take that experience away from us!”

“You’re right,” Rantaro agrees. “Hopefully they all heard us out there.”

“Chabashira is probably stalking Yumeno right now,” Miu says. “Like some sort of creepy pervert ghost!”

“Ghost?” Kaito’s eyes go wide. “N-No way!”

“Momota, calm down,” Maki says with a frown. “Ghosts aren’t real.”

“Even if they were, Tenko wouldn’t be a pervert ghost!” Himiko argues. “But Iruma would definitely be one!”

“W-Wait,” Miu says as she starts to tremble. “When the fuck did you grow a pair?”

Rantaro smiles around his cup of lemonade and idly taps his fingers on the table. It’s nice. This is nice. 

He catches Kokichi looking at him. The smaller boy has his head cupped in his hands. When he notices Rantaro, he quickly swaps his blank expression to a grin and waves wildly at Rantaro, almost knocking his own drink over. 

Rantaro can only laugh as Kirumi starts to scold Kokichi. 

\---

The sky is orange when Miu stands up with her hands on her hips, a smug expression on her face. “Listen up, cucks! The great Miu Iruma has an announcement to make! Thanks to my golden brains, I have created a new world for us all to go to!”

“You’ve _what_?” Kaito shoves a finger in his ear. 

Miu groans loudly. “I said, I’ve made a new fucking world for us to go to! What’s so difficult to understand?”

“Maybe that you’re claiming that you’ve created an entire world?” Kirumi suggests politely before she sips her tea. 

“What? A-Are you all saying I’m t-too dumb to create one?” Miu asks in dismay.

“Of course!” Kokichi answers.

Rantaro sighs. “It’s true, she has made a new world for us all. I’ve even been there. It’s nice. Cosy.”

“I didn’t know Iruma could do transportation spells!” Himiko huffs. “She must be a strong mage to be able to do those! Iruma! Please teach me your ways!”

“You want me to what?” Miu asks, waving her hand around. “Forget it. Anyways, after we’ve finished you’re all going to follow me up to the computer room. There’s a small problem that I’ll have to sort out later but I can take most of you to this new world! Aren’t I fucking amazing?”

“You sound insane,” Maki replies.

“Hey! You better start being nice to me!” Miu snaps. “This new world could save you fucking boyfriend so should be kissing the ground I walk on!”

Maki’s head snaps towards Miu instantly. “What?”

“She didn’t even deny that Momota is her boyfriend,” Kokichi mutters.

Miu smirks. “Hah! I knew that would get your attention! You’d do anything for some space dick! Clean your ears out, double ass. I said this new world could save your stupid boyfriend! M-Maybe. But there’s a good chance-”

“Where is it?”

“Huh?” Miu shakes as Maki pushes away from the table and starts to storm towards the academy.

“The computer room, right? Momota, follow me.”

“Harukawa, wait!” Tsumugi cries. “You can’t go inside without Ouma!”

Kokichi, who had started to run towards the academy, stops. “Yeah, Maki! Were you trying to get us both- h-hey! Put me down!”

Maki ignores Kokichi as she lifts him over her shoulders like a sack of potatoes. She stands at the top of the academy steps with one hand on her hip. “Momota, I’m waiting.”

“Maki! I’m going to be sick!”

She clearly doesn’t listen as she starts to tap her foot impatiently. “Momota, hurry up.”

“Fine!” Kaito sighs as he drops his spoon. “I’ll finish my freaking jelly later, I guess.”

“I’ll make sure to store it somewhere cool for you,” Kirumi reassures him. 

“Thanks,” Kaito says with a sigh. He scoops up Tsumugi’s hand and takes her towards the academy. He doesn’t notice Maki glaring daggers at the cosplayer’s hand.

Maki kicks the door open and carries a wailing Kokichi inside whilst Kaito and Tsumugi follow behind her quietly.

“I-I need to be there!” Miu cries in alarm. “To explain what they need to do!”

“But the food,” Kirumi says, pausing with a plate in her hands. “I need to-”

“Fuck the food!” Miu yells, snatching Kirumi’s hand up and holding it like a vice. “We need to go to the computer room!”

“Don’t worry, Tojo,” Shuichi says. “The rest of us will sort out the leftovers.”

“Oh,” Kirumi’s mouth forms a circle. “If you’re all sure.”

“It’s fine,” Rantaro tells her. 

“Hurry up!” Miu starts to tug Kirumi towards the academy. “They have to plug in the headsets a specific way and I’m not getting the blame if they decide to fuck up the wires!”

Rantaro watches at Kirumi allows herself to be pulled away by a surprisingly strong Miu. He then turns to the table. There’s only a couple of plates with food left on them. The rest of them simply need to be washed. 

“We’ll take the dirty plates,” Kiyo says as he starts to gather them up with Shuichi. “Amami, could you and Yumeno sort out the leftover food? If we all work together then we’ll get this task done quickly.”

“I suppose I can spare some mana,” Himiko says with a nod. 

Rantaro works with her to gather up all of the food on the table and starts to sort everything onto different plates. He piles up spare sandwiches whilst Himiko tackles the cups full of jellies and the bowls with fruit inside. They prioritise the fruit and deserts and quickly whisk them inside first. 

“I’ve never done so much work before,” Himiko admits as she stumbles inside, one of her arms hooked against Rantaro’s. 

“You’re doing good,” Rantaro reassures her. 

Himiko blows out some air. “I hope so. I didn’t know I was so unfit.”

Rantaro smiles at her. “You won’t just become healthy overnight. You need to work at it. I’m sure if you asked Kaito then he’ll gladly have you join his workout group he has going on during the night.”

“I see,” Himiko pauses. Her bottom lip wobbles. “T-Tenko would want me to do that, right?”

“Ah,” Rantaro says as his eyes soften. “She’d just want you to be happy.”

“I should’ve trained with her when I had the chance,” Himiko admits as she steps back outside with him. “She was always asking me to do her neo aikido with her but I always declined. I wish that I…”

“Well, it’s not too late,” Rantaro points out. “To do the neo aikido, of course. Her lab should still be open if you want to practice inside of there.”

“Why didn’t I think of that!” Himiko gasps. “I can practice my poses in there!”

“I thought that you wanted to do neo aikido?”

“Tenko would want me to do something that would make me happy,” Himiko says firmly. “And practicing my poses for when I go on stage next makes me happy. I don’t usually practice that much but I can’t let myself get rusty.”

“Good for you, Yumeno,” Rantaro says as he balances some plates on his arms. 

Himiko’s eyes widen. “Have you been a waiter before or something?”

“Oh, yeah,” Rantaro reveals. “I do come from a rich family but I never really wanted to take my parents money for granted. I did some odd jobs around town. I was a waiter for quite a while but, uh, it didn’t work out.”

“Did you get fired?”

“I kept dropping everything,” Rantaro admits.

Himiko stares at the plates on his arms nervously. “Maybe you shouldn’t carry so much.”

In an act of defiance, Rantaro shakes his head. “You shouldn’t worry too much. It’ll probably upset Monokuma if I drop all of these but he can’t exactly punish me. There’s no rules about dropping plates.”

“Oh,” Himiko says as she looks at the plates on the table. Then, she grins lazily with half lidded eyes. “I suppose you’re right. I guess annoying Monokuma counts as a win.”

She decides to pile up plates and bowls as high as she can before holding onto Rantaro’s sleeve as the two stumble into the kitchen.

Kiyo blinks at the two. “Oh my.”

“That’s a lot of plates,” Shuichi says from the sink. His hands are submerged under the water while Kiyo dries the dishes. “Um, please try not to break any.”

“We’re being rebellious!” Himiko tells him as she drops the bowls onto the counter. “Monokuma can’t hurt us if we drop them on accident!”

“So that’s why you’re both carrying so many,” Kiyo says dryly. 

“But at least we’ve got them all in now!” Rantaro says. “Yumeno and I have already sorted out the leftovers. Now we just need to finish the dishes!”

“Ah, I’m fine washing on my own,” Shuichi says. He gestures over to the pile of wet dishes. “But if you could help Shinguji out drying them then that would help.”

“Indeed, that would be a help,” Kiyo agrees. “I don’t want to ruin my bandages.”

“Why do you wear them anyway?” Himiko asks. “Do you have like ugly skin or something?”

“That’s not it at all,” Kiyo responds. “I wear them like how you all wear clothes. They make me feel comfortable. I can confirm that I am not hiding anything either.”

“Oh,” Himiko answers. “Well that’s boring.”

Rantaro picks up a plate and starts to dry it. “I wonder how everyone else is doing? I hope Harukawa hasn’t made Ouma sick.”

“Maybe he deserves it,” Himiko says bitterly. “He should be punished for all the horrible things he says to everyone.”

Rantaro bites his lip. “That may be true but…”

“I just don’t see why you like him so much, Amami,” Kiyo admits as he puts down a dry cup. “He isn’t the easiest person to get along with. I would find him interesting if he wasn’t so irritating.”

“Maybe he acts the way he does to feel safe,” Rantaro suggests as he dries a purple plate. “It’s not everyday you’re thrown into a killing game. Sure, he could be a little nicer but he hasn’t actually hurt anyone, has he?”

“He’s hurt my feelings,” Himiko mutters.

Rantaro sighs. “Let me rephrase that. He hasn’t hurt anyone physically. Right now, he could be doing a lot worse than just bullying everyone with words.”

“Whilst that is true,” Kiyo says. “It’s like I said. He’s irritating. I wouldn’t be surprised if Harukawa takes him out one night. I’m certain the only reason she hasn’t is because she doesn’t want to leave Momota behind. Her crush on him couldn’t be anymore obvious.”

“Harukawa doesn’t seem like the sort of person who is honest about their feelings,” Himiko points out with a matter of fact tone. “And I would know that.”

“She’s probably shy,” Rantaro agrees.

Kiyo rolls his eyes. “Have you all forgotten that she’s an assassin? It would be rather undesirable to be with someone who kills people for a living. I doubt that even Momota would want to be with her forever.”

“That’s rather harsh,” Rantaro quietly says.

“He might have a point,” Shuichi joins in. “Momota would be in danger if he were to pursue a relationship with Harukawa. Even if they do leave this place together, imagine how many people will be after Harukawa. She’s an assassin. Surely people are looking for her right now.”

“Then why haven’t they found her?” Kiyo abruptly asks. “She is the Ultimate Assassin, you would think that she’s important enough that people would be looking for her, even if it is to kill her.”

“I…” Rantaro stops. “Haven’t thought about that.”

“Maybe we should be scared of Harukawa,” Himiko says with a shudder.

“I’m sure she would protect us if anything bad happens,” Rantaro reassures her. “But we can’t just antagonize her because of her talent. She hasn’t killed anyone so far.”

“Well,” Kiyo hesitates.

Rantaro sighs as he looks over to the sink. Shuichi’s shoulders seem to be a little tense. 

“As long as we don’t treat her like the bad guy then I don’t think she’ll become one,” Rantaro says. “That’s all I’m saying.”

“Perhaps you have a point,” Kiyo says as he starts to put away the dry dishes. “In any case, I’ll make sure that she doesn’t harm you, Amami.”

“Oh, thanks,” Rantaro responds, feeling his face heat up. “But what about-”

“What about me?” Himiko demands. “Would you protect me too?”

“Perhaps,” Kiyo answers.

Himiko pouts.

“Don’t worry, I’ll keep an eye on you,” Rantaro tells her. 

“Oh, that’s a relief,” Himiko says with a lazy smile. 

“Saihara? Do you want protecting too?” Rantaro offers, half joking half serious.

“I think I’ll be okay,” Shuichi answers as he passes Rantaro a bowl. “But, um, thanks.”

“You’ll have Momota looking out for you!” Himiko declares. “And he looks pretty strong!”

“But he’s also ill, remember?” Kiyo adds. “From the looks of things, it seems that perhaps he doesn’t have as long as he wants.”

“Then we’ll just have to find a way out of here for him!” Himiko argues. “So don’t be so negative!”

“I’m sure that Iruma’s new world might help him too,” Rantaro supplies. “She told me that illness doesn’t exist there so if we convince Kaito to stay there for a while then his body will be able to rest. He might find it boring but if it gives him a chance to get out of here with the rest of us then we’ve got to take it.”

“But he was coughing up so much blood,” Himiko quietly responds. “How is that healthy?”

“It isn’t,” Kiyo answers. “I suppose all we can do now is hope that he holds on long enough until he can leave. Remember, Momota is also stubborn. I highly doubt that he’d allow his illness to kill him.”

“If it isn’t his illness that kills him then what will?” Shuichi asks softly. 

“Maybe someone will see him as an easy target?” Kiyo suggests.

“But Harukawa is always around him,” Himiko argues. “You’d have to be really stupid to try and kill Momota!”

“That’s right,” Rantaro says. 

Rantaro reaches towards the cupboards to put a stack of plates away. He only manages to push them in when he hears a loud yelp and spins around to see the detective holding onto a rather bloody looking hand. 

“Ah,” Shuichi pulls his hand from the water and winces. There’s a rather deep cut that runs across his palm. 

Rantaro winces as he watches soap suds trickle into the cut. “Here, I’ll help you sort that out.”

Carefully, Rantaro takes a firm but gentle hold of Shuichi’s wrist. He turns the tap on and washes away the leftover soap that is on Shuichi’s hand. He looks at the cut.

“It’s not as deep as it looks,” Rantaro tells him. “But I’m pretty sure there’s a first aid kit here.”

“I’ve found it!” Himiko says as she points to the top of a shelf. “But I can’t reach it.”

“Allow me,” Kiyo says. He only has to roll onto his tiptoes to reach the top of the shelf. He pulls down the white box with ease and passes it to Rantaro. 

The four head inside of the dining room together and Rantaro instructs Shuichi to sit down on one of the chairs.

“Hand out,” Rantaro says and Shuichi obliges.

The cut doesn’t look too bad now that Shuichi’s hand has been cleaned. Still, Rantaro supposes that he should wrap it up just in case. He reaches into the kit and first pulls out a bottle and pours the contents onto a cotton bud. He dabs the cotton bud onto the injury, making sure to firmly hold onto Shuichi’s wrist as the detective instinctively tries to pull his hand away.

“Sorry, it just really hurts,” Shuichi apologies as he tries to keep his hand still.

“It’s fine,” Rantaro tells him with a brief smile. “It should be me apologising, not you.”

Shuichi simply nods in response and warily watches as Rantaro finishes cleaning up the cut. Once he’s done, Rantaro gently starts to wrap Shuichi’s hand, making sure that the bandages are comfortable. He only lets go of Shuichi’s hand when he’s finished. 

“Does it still hurt?” Rantaro asks.

“A little,” Shuichi answers truthfully. “But, um, thanks. You reacted really quickly.”

“I think I panicked,” Rantaro responds. “There was just so much blood. I acted on instinct.”

“You act like everyone’s big brother. Of course you’d act on instinct,” Kiyo teases. “But you dressed that wound nicely. I’m fairly confident that it won’t get infected.”

“I hope not,” Shuichi says as he pulls his hand to his chest. 

Rantaro pulls himself up from the chair. “I’ll go and make sure that there’s no glass inside of the sink. I don’t want anyone else hurting themselves.”

He walks Himiko back inside the kitchen and inspects the sink. The water has been drained from it and Rantaro spots a cracked cup. He lifts it out from the handle and it dangles from his finger. It’s a bright blue cup and Rantaro thinks he remembers comparing the colour to Tsumugi’s hair. He hums and places it carefully inside of the bin. 

“That looked like it hurt,” Himiko comments as Rantaro gathers up broken pieces of cup from the sink. 

Rantaro hums. “Perhaps. I think it’s the shock of the pain that gets people more than the actual cuts.”

“I see.”

He quickly finishes up cleaning up the sink and heads back to the dining room with Himiko. 

“I think it’s about time we headed upstairs to meet with everyone else,” Kiyo says as he starts to stretch. “I am curious about this other world that Iruma has created.”

“It does sound interesting,” Shuichi admits. “I would like to go there too.”

“Me too!” Himiko throws her hand up in the air. “I want to use some transportation magic too!”

Rantaro fondly rolls his eyes at the three. “Then let's go.”

\---

They walk into chaos.

“Can you fucking cut it out?”

Miu has both of her hands on her hips as she sighs loudly. From the looks of things, she’s running out of patience.

Kokichi is currently running around the room with one of the headsets and from Miu’s appearance, she most likely tried to chase him to get it back. Clearly she failed as Kokichi is still holding on tightly to a headset in his hands. 

“This world will save him right?” Maki asks loudly as she fiddles with a pair of wires. She frowns when Miu ignores her and snaps her fingers. “Oi, Iruma. I asked if this world will save him.”

Miu huffs. “I don’t fucking know! Maybe? I’ve already said that there’s only a fifty fifty chance that it might!”

“We won’t get hurt going there, right?” Tsumugi quizzes as she plays with one of the headsets on her lap. “What if we don’t wake back up again if we go there? I’m a little scared to go.”

“Amami and I already went!” Miu barks at her. “And we both survived! Besides, no one would miss a plain bitch like you anyway!”

“Iruma, that wasn’t very nice,” Kirumi chastises sharply. 

“So fucking what,” Miu says as she kicks the floor. “I’ve already told you all the risks that might happen if you all go to this world so no one can pin anything on me if anything happens to anyone! So if someone dies then it won’t be my fault.”

“But whose fault will it be then?” Kirumi asks. “You said that you made this world.”

“E-Eh?” Miu twirls a strand of hair around her finger. “W-Well maybe I-I lied just a little. I just found this place, that’s all.”

Rantaro raises an eyebrow. She had already told him that she was told to go to this place by her inner voice. Clearly, she had only told Maki that she created this place to get on her good side if Kaito does miraculously get better. However, Rantaro realises that he hasn’t really questioned the situation that much. How did the inner voice know about this place? How did the inner voice fix up the world to make it safe? Why does Miu trust the inner voice so much?

Who is the inner voice?

“So it might be dangerous after all,” Kiyo says, startling the room. “Is it really worth the risk of going inside?”

“I-It’s safe!” Miu protests. “I promise! T-Tell them, Amami!”

“Me?” Rantaro blinks. “Well...the world itself is safe.”

“I feel like there’s a but coming,” Kokichi says with a smirk.

Rantaro swallows. “Ah, that’s right. It’s just...I wouldn’t recommend leaving the house.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?” Maki asks with a frown. “Will Momota be safe there or not?”

“Of course he will,” Rantaro reassures her. He feels his blood start to cool.

He’s going to have to lie. He can’t let them find that flashback light. It would destroy them.

Kokichi tilts his head to the side. “Then what’s wrong, Amami?”

“It’s dangerous outside the house,” Rantaro says smoothly. “Really dangerous.”

“What the fuck are you on about?” Miu snaps. “It shouldn’t be dangerou-”

“I was with you the entire time,” Rantaro tells her. “You just missed everything that was dangerous. Trust me.”

Miu opens and closes her mouth and subtly runs a hand across her ear. “O-Oh…”

“Is something wrong, Iruma? You look upset,” Tsumugi gently asks. 

Miu crosses her arms. “It’s fucking nothing. I just...guess I fucked up a little. If Amami says don’t go outside then I guess you all shouldn’t head out.”

Rantaro feels like a weight has been lifted from his shoulders. 

“But what’s so dangerous that we can’t head outside?” Kiyo asks. “Are there some sort of monsters?”

“T-There’s not any g-ghosts, right?” Kaito asks as he starts to drum his fingers against the arm of the chair. 

Rantaro shakes his head. “Of course not. How do I explain this. I think Monokuma has made the outside of this world rather dangerous? I swear I spotted an exisal guarding the house. It actually followed Iruma and I but it seems that they can’t actually go inside.”

“Oh my!” Tsumugi’s eyes widen. “You weren’t hurt, were you?”

“I wasn’t but it was a rather alarming experience,” Rantaro admits. “Think of the house as a safe spot. As long as you stay inside there then you all should be fine.”

“So no leaving the house?” Kaito asks. “Got it!”

“Also no going on the roof!” Miu suddenly shouts. She clears her throat. “We don’t want to give ourselves away, that’s all. Just because the exisals can’t get inside doesn’t mean they won’t be able to climb up onto the roof. Just stay inside the house and you virgins will be fine.”

“Are you sure it’s okay for us all to go to this world?” Himiko asks. “It doesn’t sound all that safe really.”

“As long as small groups go in at a time, we should be fine,” Rantaro answers. “As you can already tell, not all of us can go in at once anyway.”

“I noticed that,” Kirumi says. “Why are there only nine headsets?”

Miu sweats. “I really don’t know.”

“Who cares,” Maki abruptly says. “All that matters right now is finding Momota somewhere safe to stay. As long as he stays safe in the program then it’s fine. That being said, I will be guarding him from now on.”

“But Maki!” Kokichi whines. “I don’t want to be stuck in this boring room all day!”

“Tough,” Maki responds. “There’s no way in hell I’ll let you go inside the program with Momota without me there. I’m only going in just this once to check it out and then after that, I’ll guard Momota until further notice.”

“That does seem a little excessive,” Kiyo says. “I doubt that someone will attack Momota.”

“He’s vulnerable,” Maki hisses. “He can’t defend himself if he’s stuck in the program. I’m guarding him and that’s final.”

Tsumugi clears her throat. “So, can anyone actually go into this new world then?”

“Only people I trust,” Maki answers. 

“Damn, I guess no one can go inside then!” Kokichi says and grins when Maki glowers at him.

“Of course I’ll let some people in,” Maki says. “Just...people who I chose.”

“This isn’t exactly fair,” Kiyo points out as Maki starts to gather up the headsets.

Miu splutters. “W-Wait a minute, what do you think you’re doing?!”

“I’ll be watching over these from now on,” Maki supplies. “I will not let Momota be harmed. From now on, you can only get these headsets from me only. I’ll be counting them to make sure that no one takes any. I’ll also be the only person who can hand them out. If someone takes one without my permission then there will be serious consequences.”

“But this program isn’t yours!” Miu erupts angrily. “Who the fuck do you think you are?!”

“I’m only being cautious,” Maki answers coolly. 

“Yeah but,” Kaito hesitates. “Maybe you shouldn’t be too harsh on everyone! I trust them all! Besides, you’ve already said you’ll look out for me and that makes me feel completely safe already!”

Maki furiously turns her head away as she hides her face in her hands. “I can’t protect you both inside and outside the world.”

“I’ll just stay in the house!” Kaito reassures her. “Don’t worry so much, Maki! You just need to believe in everyone!”

“Yeah, even me!” Kokichi says as he puffs his chest out. “So, about those headsets…”

“You of all people are not getting one,” Maki snaps. “So don’t even think about it.”

Kokichi’s lip wobbles. “B-But Maki! I really just want to-”

“Saihara,” Maki says abruptly, effectively cutting Kokichi off. “I think you should stay inside the world with Momota.”

“Eh?” Shuichi blinks a couple of times. “Why me?”

“Cause you’re my bro!” Kaito responds. “Everything will be boring if I’m on my own! Besides, it seems Maki trusts you enough to be with me! Isn’t that great news?”

“No offence but I don’t need Harukawa’s permission to hang around you,” Shuichi says coldly. He frowns. “I’ll stay with you but…”

“Hey? What’s up?” Kaito asks. “Have you and Maki fallen out?”

“Are you seriously this dense?” Kiyo sighs. “Use your brain, Momota.”

“I just don’t see why Saihara wouldn’t like…” Kaito pauses. Then, he leans back into his chair and exhales loudly. “This is about Kaede, isn’t it?”

Shuichi nods as an answer, refusing to look at either Kaito and Maki. 

“Aw shit,” Kaito says as he runs a hand down his face. “Shuichi, bro. Listen…”

“Don’t tell me that you don’t think Harukawa hasn’t done anything wrong?” Kokichi says as he raises an eyebrow. “Because that would be really shitty of you, Momota! Poor Saihara must be so upset that he has to work with a filthy killer just to keep you alive!”

Maki flinches. “I would never hurt Momota…”

“But you did hurt Akamatsu,” Kiyo points out. “Because of the whole thing with Angie, we never really did take what you did into serious consideration now that I think about it. It was merely brushed to the side.”

“That’s because Kaede didn’t want to make a big deal out of it!” Kaito argues. “She let Maki join us in the tunnels! I know, look, I know that Maki never got the chance to apologise to Kaede in person-”

“Never got the chance?” Shuichi’s voice gets higher. “She had days-”

“Both of them were busy in the tunnels!” Kaito quickly defends.

Maki bites the inside of her mouth before sighing. “Momota, maybe you shouldn’t-”

“No!” Kaito slams his fist down onto the arm of the chair. “Okay, yeah. What Maki did was really shitty. I get it. But she’s not the person you all think she is! She went down into the tunnels with Kaede, right? Hell, she even helped her try and get through them! She might’ve not apologised in person but don’t her actions mean anything?”

“Harukawa didn’t join Angie’s council either,” Tsumugi murmurs and turns bright red when Shuichi stares at her with wide eyes. “T-That wasn’t a dig at you, Saihara-”

“It sure did sound like one,” Kokichi airily replies. 

Shuichi opens and closes his mouth. “I didn’t hurt her by leaving!”

“I’m just saying,” Kaito says and takes a deep breath. “Maki knows she screwed up, Shuichi. She’ll do anything to make up for her mistake!”

“That’s right,” Maki says. She hesitantly presses the headset into Shuichi’s hands. “I know I never got to apologise to her when she was alive but I still plan on making it up to her.”

“Even though she’s dead?” Himiko blinks slowly. “How are you going to do that?”

“I have some ideas,” Maki admits. “But I need a couple more days at least. I’m not going to rush things like I did with Akamatsu. I was stupid. I rushed things with her but I won’t make the same mistake twice.”

Kokichi’s grin stretches across his face. “Reallllly?”

“That’s right.”

“But how can we trust you?” Kiyo asks. “I personally don’t feel quite safe letting an assassin of all people try to avenge Akamatsu. That’s just asking for trouble.”

“I don’t plan on working alone,” Maki reveals. “That’s why I want to ask Saihara to help me this time.”

“Huh?” Shuichi almost drops the headset. “M-Me?”

“You’re smart,” Maki says. “Akamatsu trusted you as a detective and I’m sure Momota will vouch for you too. I’ve figured out a way to avenge Akamatsu but I can’t do it alone. I need someone who I can trust to help me.”

Rantaro frowns. “H-Hey. What about me?”

“Of course I want your help too.” Maki turns around to face him. “Besides, everyone here likes you. They’ll be more likely to trust me if they know we’re working together.”

“You are aware that we can hear you?” Miu questions as she puts a hand on her hip. “Maybe I don’t want to fucking trust you.”

“You don’t have to trust me,” Maki responds. “I don’t care. As long as I get the help from the people I need then it doesn’t matter who trusts me and who doesn’t. It’s not like I trust a lot of you here either.”

“Ouch! You hurt me, Maki!” Kokichi pretends to wipe away a fake tear. “And here I thought we could be best friends!”

She ignores him and turns back to Shuichi. “Saihara, I know I have no right to ask you for help but right now, you might be my only hope. I know I...really messed up with Akamatsu and I don’t expect your forgiveness. I just want to make it up to her and everyone else here by...by getting us out of here. You’ll help me do that, right?”

Shuichi clearly seems hesitant. He starts to fumble with the sleeves on his jacket. “I don’t...I don’t know if…”

“Of course you can!” Kaito answers for him. “I trust both of my sidekicks! Both you and Maki will make an amazing team! With your brains and her super cool skills you’ll both end the killing game in no time!”

“You’ll get to work with me too since I’ll always be around Maki!” Kokichi adds. “Isn’t that an amazing additional bonus?! I can’t wait to work with you, Saihara!”

“I wouldn’t want to work with you,” Himiko truthfully says. “But I suppose I would trust Saihara to be the one to find a way to stop this game.”

“I too shall offer my services,” Kirumi offers. “So you won’t be alone, Saihara. If you have any requests then all you need to do is call.”

“Then I guess I’ll fucking help too,” Miu begrudgingly mumbles, crossing her arms. “But only because I want to leave this place too! I’m sick of this shitty school and everyone in it!”

Kiyo narrows his eyes. “I’ll just ignore what you said but I too will help, Saihara. After all, we both have to stay in the same room as each other, correct? I’m sure two heads are better than one anyhow.”

“I’m not sure how much of a help I’ll be,” Tsumugi admits. “But I’ll help look after Momota so you don’t have to worry about him too much! If Harukawa lets me then I’ll try and stay with him inside the program as much as I can!”

“I’ll help too,” Rantaro adds. “I might’ve failed trying to find a way out on my own but I’m sure if we all work together then we may find an exit sooner than we imagine. Momota is right, I’m sure you’re smart enough to find a way out with the help of everyone else.”

“Maybe I’ll even use some of my magic to help,” Himiko says.

Shuichi looks stunned. He turns his head as his cheeks darken from so many people looking at him. “Y-You all want to work together? With me?”

“Bro, you’re an amazing detective!” Kaito enthusiastically cheers. “Kaede was right to have trust in you right from the start! Hell, weren’t you the one who found the door in the library? You were already finding ways out here way before everyone else!”

“You found that without any help too,” Rantaro points out. 

“But I never got the door open…”

“No one has managed to get the door open yet, bro!” Kaito responds with a chuckle. 

Maki tucks a strand of her hair behind her ear. “Besides, it’s likely that the door in the library is just a set up anyway. There might be something important behind the door but we should forget about it until we have a way of opening it.”

“Doesn’t the door require a key card to open it?” Kokichi suddenly points out. “And didn’t we have a key card given to us earlier by Monokuma?”

Kiyo nods his head. “Indeed, we did.”

Kirumi’s face falls. “I’m afraid that the key card doesn't work for the library door. I admit that I did try and use it but it didn’t open. I’m sorry that I forgot to mention this to everyone else.”

“What did happen to the key card?” Tsumugi asks.

“I hid it,” Kirumi reveals. “Since Monokuma had said the key card was a motive, I didn’t want there to be any fights over it. However, if we do end up needing the key card again one day then myself and Yumeno do know where it’s hidden.”

“Actually, I don’t know where you put it,” Himiko admits. “I wasn’t really paying attention.

Kirumi pauses. “Then it seems that only I know where it’s hidden. Very well. As I said, if we do end up needing it then I’ll be happy to retrieve it. For now, I do however intend on keeping it hidden.”

“Hopefully you don’t decide to get yourself killed or kill someone before we need it again,” Miu offhandedly says. “Because if you die and we need it then that’s on you!”

“Maybe Tojo should tell someone else where it’s hidden just in case,” Tsumugi nervously says. “It would be a shame if we do end up needing it.”

“I do not intend on dying any time soon,” Kirumi firmly says. “It’ll be much safer if less people know about the key card's location. If I do end up needing to tell someone then I will. For now, I suggest we all forget about the key card and focus on more important things.”

“Like finding a way out of the school,” Himiko continues. “So, are we all going to rely on Saihara to find a way out?”

“No.” Rantaro shakes his head. “We’re not going to rely on him. That would be way too overwhelming. We’re going to help him, right?”

“Oh. Right.”

“Is everyone sure?” Shuichi asks. “I-I’m not actually that good of a detective so-”

“Bro, don’t put yourself down!” Kaito cries. “You just need to believe in yourself! Everyone else believes in you!”

“I trust you the most out of everyone here to find a way out,” Maki admits patiently. “Because Momota trusts you and…”

“Of course I trust my sidekicks!” Kaito smiles wide. “And if they say they’re gonna find a way out of here then they’re...gonna...they’re gonna…”

He puts a hand to his mouth and starts to cough. Kaito shudders as pink starts to trickle through his fingers and he’s helpless to stop it. As Kaito wheezes, Maki rushes over to him and squeezes his shoulder, desperately trying to peel his hand away from his face so she can assess the damage.

“I should have a tissue in my pocket,” Kirumi hurriedly says as she starts to go through her many hidden pockets.

“Momota? Momota!” Maki starts to pull on his arm. “It’s getting worse!”

“C-Calm down, Maki!” Kaito hacks out through coughs. “I just got a little excited. It’ll stop in a couple of minutes.”

“It’s more concerning how regularly this is happening,” Kiyo says. “I hadn’t realised that your health is this bad.”

“That’s why we need to find a way out of this school as soon as possible,” Maki heatedly says. She frowns as Kaito leans forwards and rests his head on her chest. Under any other circumstances, she would’ve pushed him away but worry claws at her and she instead puts a hand on his head. “Iruma, this place will help him, right?”

“I c-can’t fucking confirm anything,” Miu admits quietly. “B-But illness doesn’t exist in the program. I can’t do anything about his body but in the program he should be fine.”

“Saihara, help me log him in,” Maki instructs as she carefully places the headset onto Kaito’s head. “Plug the wires in.”

“O-Okay.”

Shuichi’s hands shake as he reaches for the wires and slots them into the correct holes. There’s a frantic few seconds of waiting before Kaito’s body slumps backwards. Maki hesitantly rests Kaito back onto the chair.

“He got there okay, right?” Maki asks. “Iruma?”

“You’ll have to check!” Miu snaps. “Go and see for yourself!”

Maki trembles as she snatches one of the headsets for herself and sits down next to Kaito. She jams the headset onto her head without any hesitation and leans back before plugging herself in. Then, she goes still.

After a tense couple of seconds, Himiko clears her throat.

“Momota is really sick…”

“Which is why I propose we start to find a way out of here sooner than later,” Kirumi says. “Shirogane, from the looks of things you’ll be the one who will look out for Momota. I have no doubts that Harukawa will also be joining you as well as Ouma.”

“How boring!” Kokichi complains. 

Kirumi brushes off his exclamation. “Saihara, it seems that while Harukawa trusts you to look after Momota inside of the world, from the looks of things, I think you are more needed inside of the academy. You and Shinguji should start to do some investigating around the academy. Amami and Yumeno, will you both join them?”

“What will you be doing, Tojo?” Rantaro asks. 

“I’ll stay here just in case Momota needs any more medical help,” Kirumi reveals. “I don’t feel comfortable leaving him until I know he’s completely stable. I’m sure Harukawa will do all she can to look after him but I do have a lot of medical knowledge myself. Yes, it would be better for me to stay here just for now.”

“Guess I’ll be stuck in here too,” Miu mutters and sits down onto one of the chairs.

“Oh! Oh!” Kokichi sticks his hand up in the air and wildly waves it around. “Can I go into the program? Pretty please?”

“You should ask Harukawa about that,” Kirumi says. “She seems rather tense right now so I wouldn’t recommend going inside of the program without her permission. For now, I’ll watch over the headsets for her. There should be seven that are not in use.”

She counts the pile of six and looks at the headset in Shuichi’s hands. Kirumi nods in satisfaction as the detective places his headset down with the rest.

“I suppose we should set off,” Kiyo says and he stretches his arms. “The sooner we start, the sooner we’ll find a way out of here. I’m sure Harukawa will appreciate it if we find the exit quickly.”

“I also really want to go home,” Himiko admits. “So yeah, we should find the exit as soon as possible.”

"Hopefully Kaito will feel better soon,” Rantaro says as he leaves the room. He knows that it’s wishful thinking but a small part of him wishes for a miracle or at least something. There’s no way that Monokuma will just hand over anything that will help Kaito. No, the only real way to help him as this point is to bust him out of the school. 

Kirumi nods. “I’ll be here to help him if he needs it. I wish you all good luck. Hopefully you’ll all find something that will help us leave.”

“Good luck, Ran-chan!” Kokichi calls as he leans heavily onto a chair. “You better find a way out of here or my organisation will come and hunt you down!”

“Can’t you ask your organisation to bust us out of here?” Tsumugi innocently asks. 

“Nah, that would be boring,” Kokichi dismissively says and starts to pick at his nails. “I’m having so much fun playing this game! Why would I want to stop?”

“I can think of plenty of reasons why,” Kirumi mumbles. 

“I’ll try my best,” Shuichi says as his eyes flicker over to Kaito. “Um, you’ll keep an eye on him, won’t you, Tojo?”

“Of course,” Kirumi softly says with a smile. “If anything does happen I’ll come and find you.”

The group of four leave the room together, all of them sparing Kaito one last look before closing the door softly behind them. 

“Well, what the fuck do we do now?” Miu leans her head backwards and her hair tumbles over the edge of the chair. “Is this what we’re going to do all day? I have more important shit I need to do.”

“I highly doubt that,” Kokichi cooes. “You haven’t done a single useful thing ever since we arrived here!”

“T-That’s not true!”

“Ouma, I’m going to have to ask you to refrain from causing too much trouble for now,” Kirumi says sternly. “I understand that you’re bored but-”

“I have nothing to do!” Kokichi complains. “Maki won’t let me go into the program and I can’t even leave this room! What else am I supposed to do?”

“Well, from the looks of things we’re all probably going to be sleeping in here tonight,” Tsumugi says. “Maybe you can start to make up beds with the cushions from the chairs? That’s something to do, right? It might sound rather plain but…”

“It does sound plain!” Kokichi sighs. “But I guess it’s something to do. I’m going to make my bed the biggest! Miu can just sleep on the floor.”

“N-No way!” Miu argues. “You can sleep on the floor!” 

Tsumugi hides herself on top of her chair as Miu and Kokichi start to run around the room, Miu stumbling over a couple of times. She curls her legs to her chest as she watches them both in amusement.

She lifts her head up as Kirumi clears her throat, seeking her attention. 

“I hope that you’re okay with the current arrangements,” Kirumi says. “It’s a shame that you had no say in the matter.”

“It isn’t ideal,” Tsumugi admits. “But I’m sure I’ll find things to do! With any luck, Harukawa will let me go inside the program so maybe I’ll find something to do in there!”

“Amami did say that it was rather boring inside.”

“Ah, who knows!” Tsumugi responds. “I find joy in all sorts of plain stuff!”

“I see,” Kirumi says and puts a hand to her chin. “Very well. I’m sure that you’ll get to leave the room occasionally. That must be something, at least?”

“Ahaha, yeah!” Tsumugi says and gives the maid a rather strained smile. “It’s like I said! It’s not ideal but I suppose since Harukawa will be in the room a lot then I’ll get protection from her too! We can’t forget that we’re all still in a killing game.”

“That’s right,” Kirumi replies. “Although, it seems that everyone is united right now. That makes me happy. I’m sure that Saihara will do a good job finding a way out of here.”

“I’m sure he will!” Tsumugi says and puts her head on her knees. “I’m sorry Tojo but could you leave me alone for now? I’m starting to get a bit of a headache.”

“Oh.” Kirumi adjusts one of her gloves. “Is there anything I can do for you?”

“Ah, probably not. I think I might just nap for a little while.”

Kirumi quietly takes her leave and doesn’t notice how Tsumugi’s smile falls quickly falls into a deep frown. 

\---

“Is there anywhere in particular you want to look first?”

Shuichi doesn’t nod. Instead, he looks down at this hand as he starts to count off his fingers. “There’s a couple of places I want to have a thorough look around. I haven’t had a look inside of a couple of labs. In fact, I think it’s a good idea if I have a look inside all of the labs again just in case.”

“Ah, speaking of labs,” Kiyo says and pulls out a blue stone from his pocket. “This was supposed to be used to open up Kiibo’s lab. However, when Momota and I tried to use it, Monokuma chased us away. Apparently we aren’t allowed to go into any lab if the owner has died before opening them. We haven’t had that problem until now I suppose.”

“That’s disappointing,” Himiko admits. “I thought that his lab would’ve been exciting or something.”

“It’s a rather strange rule,” Rantaro says as he eyes the stone. “I don’t see why we aren’t allowed inside of it.”

“It certainly is suspicious,” Shuichi responds as he takes the blue stone from Kiyo’s hand. “Are you sure that we can’t go inside? I’d really like to take a look.”

Kiyo shrugs. “You’re welcome to try but I don’t doubt that Monokuma will try and stop you. However, it seems that he hasn’t yet updated the monopads so if you’re feeling rebellious, I suppose we can try and break in now if you want.”

“That sounds risky,” Himiko says. “But I suppose I can cast a protection spell before we try. That way, if Monokuma does try and stop us then he’ll fail!”

Rantaro laughs nervously. “Maybe we should try and open his lab up later.”

“That’s probably for the best.” Shuichi bites his thumb. “I also would like to go to my lab and read through all of the files once we’re done. There might be something important inside one of them or at least a hint on how to get out of here.”

“I highly doubt that Monokuma will be so nice to leave something like that lying around,” Kiyo says. “But I suppose your lab is a rather cosy place. Yes, perhaps we should bring up some tea and sit by the fire? I’d rather stay the night inside the lab rather than the computer room.”

“We can probably do that,” Shuichi says. “Unless Harukawa wants me to stay with Momota then I don’t think there will be a problem.”

“Right, so the labs and the files,” Rantaro lists. “Is there anywhere else you want to check out?”

“Ah, well,” Shuichi says before flushing. “Um... it’s rather embarrassing.”

“Oh?” Kiyo raises an eyebrow. “Are you suggesting that we check out everyone’s rooms too?”

“I-I wasn’t thinking about that but now that you mention it.” Shuichi rubs his cheek. “But, um, there’s one place I haven’t actually been in at all. A-And I’m only suggesting we search in there because I’ve already, um, searched the other one and…”

“Why are you getting so nervous?” Himiko questions. “You don’t want to go somewhere inappropriate, do you?”

Shuichi smiles awkwardly. “Yumeno, I wouldn’t ask this if I wasn’t desperate but, ah, would you let me investigate the girl’s bathroom?”

Himiko blinks. “Huh?”

“This is so embarrassing,” Shuichi murmurs as he hides his face with one of his arms. “I’ve already investigated the boy’s bathroom but I didn’t find anything. I-I just want to make sure that the girl’s bathrooms are the same.”

“What a bold request,” Kiyo remarks. “However, an understandable one. Yumeno, will you supervise us while we investigate the girl’s bathroom?”

“When you put it like that it makes us sound really suspicious,” Rantaro says and feels a drop of sweat form on his head. 

Himiko scrunches up her nose. “I haven’t noticed anything unusual about the girl’s bathrooms before…”

“Yes, but you’re not the Ultimate Detective,” Kiyo points out. “Wouldn’t you feel more certain if Saihara were to take a look around?”

“Hmm.” Himiko squints her eyes. “I suppose Saihara doesn’t look like a pervert…”

“T-That’s good news, I guess,” Shuichi says as he completely hides his face in his hands. “I’m sorry I asked, Yumeno. I just think that it’s better safe than sorry.”

“I guess,” Himiko responds. “But I’ll be keeping an eye on all of you! The girl’s bathroom is a sanctuary for all women! You better treat the room with respect!”

Rantaro anxiously puts himself behind Kiyo as Himiko marches the group towards the girl’s bathroom. She shoots the three boys a scary look before pushing the door open and holds onto Rantaro’s sleeve as Kiyo and Shuichi head into the room together. Himiko closes the door and folds her arms.

“I’ve got enough magic to throw you all out of this room if I see anything suspicious!” Himiko warns. “I’m serious!”

“No problem,” Shuichi weakly says and starts to look around as quickly as he can.

He first heads over to the sinks and checks the mirrors. He pulls on each of the mirrors carefully, checking to see if there is any secret areas behind the mirrors. When he fails, he starts to open all the stall doors one by one. Shuichi shoots a look at Himiko before he checks each stall. He doesn't spot anything out of the ordinary.

“T-There isn’t anything unusual,” Shuichi says as he closes the last door.

Himiko nods. “Of course there wouldn’t be anything unusual. Us girls like to keep our bathrooms very clean! I’ve heard lots of scary stories about what boys like to do inside of their bathrooms.”

“Yes.” Kiyo scrunches up his nose. “I suppose our bathrooms are a lot less pleasant sounding than yours.”

“Are you almost done?” Himiko asks. “I told you that there isn’t anything unusual in here!”

“I just have one more place to look,” Shuichi responds and he checks the wall next to the stalls. “Hmm...there doesn’t seem to be anything out of...the…”

“Saihara?” Rantaro takes a step forwards as Shuichi reaches out a hand and presses it against the wall.

The group of four jump as the wall suddenly flies open and reveals a dark looking passageway. Rantaro and Kiyo look at each other whilst Himiko’s jaw hits the floor.

“H-How did I not notice that!” Himiko splutters. “Someone must’ve put a barrier spell or something on the wall!”

Shuichi simply stares at the passageway before swallowing. “I guess we should investigate where this will take us.”

“Indeed. What a curious find,” Kiyo says as he takes a hold of Shuichi’s hand and starts to guide the two towards the darkness.

Himiko starts to shake. “U-Um, will you hold my hand too, Amami? I-I don’t l-like the dark.”

Rantaro smiles warmly as Himiko puts her hand against his own. Compared to his hands, her hands are tiny. “Sure.”

The two of them step into the darkness together and Rantaro is instantly hit with a musty smell and he wonders when the last time this place has been cleaned. He also wonders if anyone else has even discovered this tunnel. It’s dark and when he runs his free hand across the wall, he can’t find a light switch. Was this place even supposed to be found? The tunnels weren’t even on his map…

Rantaro and Himiko turn a sharp corner and Himiko starts to jump up and down when she spots light and drags Rantaro towards it. He starts to feel relieved the closer to the light they get. It had been freezing in the dark for whatever reason. It had made all the hairs on his arms stand up.

Warmth hits him straight away as he steps into the light. Rantaro has to blink a couple of times to get used to the harsh brightness but when his eyes adjust to the room he’s surprised. The room...looks rather unusual.

“I wonder what part of the academy we’re in,” Kiyo muses out loud as he wanders around the room. “This room is rather lavish.”

“I can’t believe we never found this room until now,” Himiko admits. 

“Don’t all female bathrooms have a room like this inside?” Rantaro jokes nervously.

Himiko shakes her head. “Unless I haven’t been looking hard enough. Nyeh, maybe I should check out all the bathrooms once I get out of here.”

“You would look rather strange,” Kiyo says and doesn’t shrink under Himiko’s menacing gaze.

Shuichi is currently hungrily examining the room. Rantaro raises an eyebrow as Shuichi even starts to go through the bin. However, Rantaro’s stomach churns as Shuichi frowns heavily and actually reaches into the bin. He pulls out a round object.

“Nyeh? A shot put ball?” Himiko puts a finger to her mouth. “What’s that doing there?”

“Indeed,” Kiyo says. “What an odd find.”

Shuichi swallows hard as he rolls the ball around in his hands. “It doesn’t have anything on it. It’s just a regular, clean, shot put ball.”

“But what was is doing in the bin?” Rantaro asks and takes a step forwards the examine the ball himself. “It doesn’t seem broken or anything.”

“I really don’t know,” Shuichi says and shakily puts the ball down onto the coffee table. 

There’s nothing else on the table. In fact, the whole room seems rather plain other than the bright decoration and the object that has been covered with a blanket. Shuichi heads over to the blanket and pulls it off with one tug.

“Oh my.” Kiyo puts a hand to his masked mouth. “How...unusual.”

“Hey! Who are _you_ calling unusual?

A giant Monokuma head that is inside of a glass case blinks at the four students. Their blue eye scans the room.

“Eh? What are you doing here?” Motherkuma asks. “It can’t be the finale yet!”

“Finale?” Himiko echoes. “What’s that supposed to mean?”

“ _Eek_!” Motherkuma somehow manages to produce sweat. It’s a disgusting sight. “I-Ignore what I said!”

“Were we supposed to find this room?” Shuichi asks.

Motherkuma brightens up. “Oh! It’s the detective boy! At least _one_ person is in the _right_ area!”

Kiyo’s eyes narrow. “And what exactly is that supposed to mean?”

“Saihara’s the mastermind?!” Himiko’s face goes red. “And I trusted you to go inside of the girl’s bathroom too!”

“ _I-I’m_ not the mastermind!” Shuichi yelps.

“Him? The mastermind?” Motherkuma rolls her blue eye. “How boring!”

“So you’re confirming that there _is_ a mastermind though?” Rantaro asks and crosses his arm. “You’ve just practically all but confirmed it.”

“H-huh?!” Motherkuma starts to sweat once more. “I did?”

“You did! I heard you say it!” Himiko insists.

“Are you sure? I didn’t hear anything!”

“I assure you that we did,” Kiyo deadpans. 

“W-Well then,” Motherkuma stutters as her eye wildly rolls around. She then turns red. “It all you kids’ fault! There’s a time and a place to meet me and now certainly isn’t the time! Was this planned? Did you wait until they were out of the way so you all could sneak down here? I must admit, that’s rather smart of you all but do any of you have any patience at least? You’ve all ruined the finale!”

“Who is they?” Himiko asks, ignoring Motherkuma’s rambling.

Motherkuma pouts. “Do you really think I would reveal something as dramatic as the mastermind’s identity? Who do you think I am?”

“I think that you’re currently really nervous,” Shuichi admits. “Because we weren’t supposed to find this place so early.”

“Eeek!” Motherkuma looks towards the floor. “W-Well…”

“So we were supposed to find this room?” Rantaro asks.

“Eventually! I don’t know!” Motherkuma wails. “There’s just been _so many_ changes that I can’t keep up with them all! I don’t even know who's supposed to be alive and dead right now!”

“Supposed?” Shuichi pushes. “You’re making it sound like…”

“ _Don’t_ finish that sentence!” Motherkuma snaps.

Shuichi startles and Rantaro puts a hand on the detective’s shoulder comfortingly. He frowns at the robotic head. “Hey, don’t yell at him!”

“But everything is a mess!” Motherkuma retorts. “And I can’t have him ruining everything else!”

“Well, perhaps if you weren’t such a chatterbox then you wouldn’t be in this mess, hmm?” Kiyo sighs as he closes his eyes. 

Himiko furiously shakes her head. “Are you saying that you’ve been inside the girl’s bathroom the entire time?!”

“Perhaps!” Motherkuma responds smugly. 

“I suppose that a head that large can’t be moved so easily,” Kiyo says. “And it has taken us this long to actually find this room.”

“You all shouldn't be in this room anyway!” Motherkuma snaps. “Well, besides those two. Possibly?”

Motherkuma’s blue eye rolls from Shuichi to Himiko and the two of them send each other panicked looks.

“S-Saihara? What is it on about?” Himiko asks. 

“I really don’t know,” Shuichi admits. “She seems to be confused.”

“If you had to remember last minute changes like I do then you’d be confused too!” Motherkuma cries. “I’m trying my best here! Maybe you’re both not supposed to be here! I really can’t remember anymore!”

“What do you remember?” Rantaro asks.

Motherkuma clicks her...tongue? “Ahah! I see what you’re trying to do and it won’t work! I won’t give away any more secrets! You’ve all had enough out of me today already! Now begone! I’m sick of looking at you all!”

“That’s rude,” Kiyo mutters. “Besides, I still have several questions.”

“And I said I’m not answering anything else!” Motherkuma insists. “Now get out! I can have you all punished if I so desire! One more word from any of you and I’ll have all four of you removed from this game and that’s a promise!”

Shuichi looks like he wants to argue and opens and closes his mouth. Rantaro decides to steer him back towards the tunnels before the detective can land himself into any trouble. Rantaro does, however, shoot one more look at Motherkuma and at the shot put ball.

“Hey, maybe someone should cover me up?” Motherkuma suddenly yells. “It would be a shame if _they_ knew that you’ve all been down here!”

The giant head stares at the blanket that has been left on the floor.

Himiko runs and grabs the blanket and throws it over the head silently. 

They all navigate the tunnels in silence and hold their breaths until they reach the girl’s bathrooms. When they’re all out of the tunnels, Kiyo closes the hidden door with a frown.

“That certainly was...something,” Kiyo says as he steps away from the door with a shudder.

“I can’t believe that was there all this time,” Himiko admits. “I really didn’t know why it was down there. But why did it...think I was supposed to be down there?”

“They did seem confused,” Rantaro reassures her. “I wouldn’t take anything that they’re saying personally right now.”

“But she did word so many things so strangely,” Shuichi observes. “I’m...a little confused if I must be honest.”

“We should go down there any talk to them another time,” Rantaro says. “But for now, I think we should leave them alone for a while. They seemed angry.”

“Indeed,” Kiyo agrees. “But I must say, I certainly wasn’t expecting to find that room. I wonder what other secrets there are inside of this academy?”

“Let’s go and look, shall we?” Rantaro suggests. “We still have enough time before it’s nighttime.”

Himiko opens the door to the bathrooms and freezes along with the rest of the group when spot someone outside of the door.

“What are you all doing in there?” Kirumi asks, frowning deeply. 

“Who are you talking to?” Miu shouts. She must be further down the hall.

“Tojo, we can explain!” Rantaro quickly says as he ushers the group out of the bathroom. “This isn’t what it looks like!”

“We were investigating!” Shuichi pipes up. “Really!”

“I...I see,” Kirumi says although she still looks rather troubled. “I have no reason to disbelieve any of you but you all must understand how...strange this all seems, right?”

“We all really were just examining,” Himiko says. “Saihara wanted to look inside of the girl’s bathroom so I let him in. Don’t worry, he didn’t do anything weird.”

“Neither did we!” Rantaro splutters as he gestures to himself and Kiyo.

“Quite right.” Kiyo crosses his arms. “Anyway, Tojo. What are you doing down here anyway?”

“Shirogane has a headache and asked me to fetch her a cup of water,” Kirumi explains. “Although, it seems she timed her request rather awkwardly, so it seems.”

“Please don’t tell anyone,” Shuichi pleads as his face turns red.

“I don’t see any reason why I should,” Kirumi says. “I’m just...a little shocked. I was surprised when Yumeno opened the door and I spotted you all.”

“We really were just investigating,” Rantaro desperately says.

“Right…” Kirumi sighs and clicks her tongue. “I believe you all. Now, I must get going and get some water for Shirogane. Do any of you have any requests whilst I’m here?”

“Oh, some tea for Saihara’s lab for tonight please,” Kiyo requests. “Saihara and I are going to go through the files to see if we can find anything.”

“I see.” Kirumi bows. “Very well. That is doable. Now, I really must get going now.”

Kirumi rushes off after Miu, who seems to have reached the dining room.

“Should we have told her about the room?” Himiko asks.

“Perhaps we should keep it a secret for now,” Shuichi suggests. “It’s just...last time I told someone about something I found…”

Rantaro thinks back to Kaede and the shot put ball. “It’s okay, Saihara.”

“Besides, we’ll make ourselves look suspicious,” Kiyo says. “Although, we could perhaps figure out the mastermind with this information. Presumably, they’d have to be a girl since the room was in the girl’s bathroom correct?”

“Or a very brave boy,” Himiko adds. “But I really don’t know right now. I’m still sort of scared.”

“Let’s take our minds off things and do a little more investigating?” Rantaro proposes. “Maybe we’ll get lucky and find some more clues.”


	22. Chapter 22

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This was not an easy chapter to write :,) I hope you all enjoy! 
> 
> Sorry if there's any mistakes! I checked through the chapter a couple of times so I'm sure that there aren't any. Fingers crossed!

Shuichi and Kiyo are inside of Shuichi’s lab.

The fire crackles soothingly as Kiyo puts one more log in the fireplace, pulling his hand away quickly once he’s finished. The warmth is comforting. The floor that Shuichi’s lab is in is unnaturally cold. Maybe it’s because the walls are made from stone? It doesn’t matter too much but Shuichi wouldn’t mind if Monokuma suddenly decides to invest in some heaters of some sort. 

Kiyo unravels a sleeping bag that the two of them had found inside of the storage room. It’s dark green and matches Kiyo’s uniform. He lies it near the fireplace so that he can still be near the warmth but not close enough that he might get hurt. 

“Are you sure that you’ll be okay on the chair?” Kiyo asks as he starts to fluff a pillow carefully. The way he moves his hands makes Shuichi think that Kiyo is a professional at fluffing pillows. The one that Kiyo is holding looks extremely soft and it makes Shuichi feel a little jealous. 

Shuichi nods. “I don’t think I’ll get much sleep tonight anyway. There’s so many files that I need to go over and I don’t want to let Momota down.”

“Surely you must realise that it isn’t your fault if Momota passes before you find a way out?” Kiyo says and doesn’t falter when Shuichi flinches. “I know that I do sound harsh but someone in the group must face reality.”

“Of course,” Shuicih quietly responds as he picks up a file and places it on his lap. It’s the eighth file. There’s fifty two in total. “But…”

“It would be ideal if we do manage to get him out in time,” Kiyo continues. “But from the looks of things, there really isn’t a secret exit.”

“How did we even get trapped in the academy in the first place?” Shuichi ponders. “There isn’t any doors on the glass. That means that we should be looking for tunnels to get through.”

“So our only choice is to try the underground tunnels once more,” Kiyo says with a sigh. “Which is less than favourable. They really are impossible to get through.”

“Maybe.” Shuichi turns the page of the file. Even though the lights aren’t on, the glow from the fireplace illuminates the dark text on each file. The white paper of the files now are a dusty orange. It reminds Shuichi of autumn. “Or maybe not. Perhaps...we weren’t thinking outside of the box enough. Akamatsu...Akamatsu proved that we can’t get through the tunnels with just skill alone. We need to try and find a different way through them.”

“Oh? And what do you suggest?” Kiyo asks. He’s sat cross legged on his sleeping bag. 

Balanced by the fireplace is a tray with a teacup and two teacups. One teacup is a dark blue whilst the other one is a dark green. Kiyo pours tea carefully into the green cup as well as the blue one.

“Do you take sugar, Saihara?”

“Ah, no thanks. I don’t have much of a sweet tooth.”

“I admittedly do,” Kiyo reveals as he drops a cube of sugar into his teacup and watches it dissolve.

Shuichi clears his throat as he looks up from the file. There isn’t anything interesting inside. There’s a couple of illustrations that contain elaborate murder plans inside and Shuichi feels bile rise up his throat as he tries to skim through the files as quickly as possible. He does however, find it strange that so far, all of the files only contain illustrations. File eight’s paper is worn and is turning yellow around the edges, just like the previous eight files. The corners of the pages are also soft, like someone had been handling the file frequently.

It’s strange. Evidence suggests that no one has been in this area of the school since Shuichi has seen with his own eyes the Monokubs build it. Yet all that evidence is thrown out of the window when he finds clues like this. Clues that suggest otherwise. It’s clear that these files were meant to be found and most likely needed to be read. But why? Shuichi wracks his brains. 

“It only makes sense that we can only leave through the tunnels,” Shuichi explains. “There’s no way to break the glass. It’s too thick. Besides, Monokuma will most likely punish anyone who tries to break it. He doesn’t actually seem to fussed about the tunnels. My only concern is how obvious he made them. There was even a little exit sign at the entrance.”

“Yes, the tunnels do feel like a trap,” Kiyo agrees. “Yet at the same time, they’re our only hope so it seems.”

“However, I have noticed something,” Shuichi admits. He closes file eight up. There’s nothing of urgent importance inside. “Usually, tunnels are just made from stone and that’s it, right? Yet, whilst this tunnel does have stone walls, it’s full of electronics. I can’t believe I never thought of this until now but after Monokuma had managed to turn the sky off, I thought of something. Maybe we can find a way to turn the tunnels off? There must be a way to turn off everything in the academy completely. If we find a way then…”

Kiyo’s eyes widen. “I see.”

“The tunnels must be connected to the academy,” Shuichi says. “I wasn’t sure where the main power source is but I’m starting to think that it’s got something to do with that large Monokuma head we found. She seems to know an awful lot. If I ask her about it then maybe she’ll answer?”

“Or maybe she won’t,” Kiyo suggests. “It’s rather risky.”

“We could trick her,” Shuichi proposes. “She does seem rather scatterbrained. She said that she’s confused about what’s going on. Maybe if we confuse her enough then she’ll tell us how to turn off all the power sources for the academy.”

“And how do you propose that we do that, hmm?”

“Well.” Shuichi puts a hand on his chin. “She seemed to recognise me for some reason. Perhaps I could convince her that I’m on her side? No, she was adamant that I wasn’t the mastermind. That wouldn’t work.”

“You could bluff,” Kiyo says. “You are the Ultimate Detective. If you tell her that you’ve figured out the mastermind and threaten to expose them then she might buckle.”

“But I don’t know who the mastermind is,” Shuichi says sadly. “I’m not even sure if I want to know who the mastermind is.”

Kiyo sighs. “That’s why I said bluff. You just need to pretend that you’re the one in control. You could even ask Ouma for some tips on how to lie. He seems to lie with ease.”

Shuichi bites his lip. “Do you think I could convince her?”

“If you can’t then I’m sure we can find another way to turn the power off,” Kiyo says reassuringly. “But I suggest that we find a way out of the academy soon if we want to save Momota. He says he’s fine but I’m sure that he’s merely putting on a facade.”

Knocking the file to the side, Shuichi reaches for his cup of tea. Kiyo ends up passing it to him and Shuichi wraps his hands around the warm cup. It feels nice against his hands, that are always unfortunately cold. He inhales the scent of the tea and lets out a small smile.

“Ginger tea…”

“I noticed that you seemed to favour ginger tea over the flavours so I had asked Tojo to make a pot especially. You’ve seemed a little stressed lately.”

Shuichi takes a sip of tea. It’s warm and fills his stomach with a pleasant warmth. “Things...haven’t been easy.”

“Understandable,” Kiyo responds. “Perhaps it’s a good thing that we’re trying to find a way out of here. It certainly keeps one’s mind busy, yes?”

“My mind is always busy,” Shuichi admits. “I just can’t seem to turn it off. When Momota took us all out to train, that helped. We only did some exercise for a couple of nights but...I’d do anything if I could spend one more night with everyone again.”

“Momota took you, Harukawa and Akamatsu out to train, correct?” Kiyo asks. “He’s certainly hung up on this idea of being a hero. It’s childish, if you ask me but I suppose I can’t fault him. Harukawa finds it endearing and as long as she’s preoccupied with Momota then the rest of us are safe.”

Shuichi nods and slips his fingers through the cup’s handle. “I’d say we worked hard but Momota spent most of the time lying on the floor. If I was a better detective, I would’ve noticed that something was wrong. I just wish that Momota had said something earlier.”

“He doesn’t seem like the type who would talk about their feelings.” Kiyo rolls his eyes. “It’s rather ironic. He pushes everyone else too. When we were partners, he just wouldn’t shut up actually. Others would of found it charming but I admit that it was annoying.”

Shuichi surprises himself as a laugh escapes from him. He slaps his hand over his mouth. “I’m sorry but I just couldn’t help it. But that’s what I like about Momota, I suppose. I’d prefer to listen to him over my own thoughts anyday.”

“You do seem to think negatively about yourself,” Kiyo says. “Which is a shame. You couldn’t have become the Ultimate Detective by chance.”

“Actually…” Shuichi drums his fingers against the teacup. He thinks back to the first murder case he had solved. He remembers the look of anguish in that man’s eyes. Shuichi shakes his head. “Ah, never mind.”

“You don’t have to tell your story,” Kiyo tells him. “But there must be a reason why you’re the Ultimate Detective. I didn’t become the Ultimate Anthropologist by chance.”

Shuichi leans back in the chair and pulls his legs up. The fire licks at the edge of his chair but doesn’t do any damage. However, the orange lighting does give the room a calming atmosphere and makes the detective look rather peaceful. His usually sickly pale skin looks much warmer. Softer. The orange hue, however, does not help the obvious bags that are under his eyes. 

“I thank my sister for my talent,” Kiyo reveals. “It was only thanks to her that I even got into anthropology in the first place. She was bed bound, you see. She was a sickly child and was forever plagued with illnesses so she spent most of her time inside of hospitals. I’d sit by her bedside and read her books that I had found. We weren’t the richest of families since we’d have to pay for her hospital treatment so all the books I had bought were second hand. As fate would have it, most of the books were about anthropology. Sister loved those books so I ended up buying as many as I could.”

Shuichi doesn’t respond but shows that he’s listening. 

Kiyo continues. “She’d want to find out more and more about humans and people. Because she was stuck in a hospital all day, she never got to see many people. She was fond of a couple of nurses but they couldn’t stay with her all the time. I tried to study people as much as I could but there wasn’t much we could do. I loved my sister and would do anything that she asked. So when we started to run out of books, she asked me to gather my own research for her. Of course I obliged but I must admit I do have my regrets.”

“Regrets?”

“Sister passed whilst I was away studying for her,” Kiyo admits quietly. He catches his reflection inside of his teacup and notices his frown. Kiyo clears his throat. “My regret is that she died lonely. She was an amazing sister even though she did have her own faults. I just wished people saw that whilst she was alive. My poor sister didn’t have many friends since she was stuck inside of a hospital all of the time.”

“I’m sorry,” Shuichi says. He feels like it’s the only appropriate thing he can say right now.

Kiyo shakes his head. “There’s nothing to be sorry about. I’ve been finding her friends in my own way so that she won’t be lonely. There’s something satisfying about the number one hundred so I’ve decided to find her one hundred friends. I was getting close to my goal before I was trapped here.”

“I-I can be her friend,” Shuichi offers. 

“I’m afraid that won’t be possible,” Kiyo says. “But I must thank you for your generosity. Only females can be friends with my sister. She got on better with girls. I must admit that I was the only boy in her life now that I think about it.”

“Oh.” Shuichi awkwardly runs his thumb over the rim of the cup. “I’m sure she’s appreciating your hard work.”

“Indeed,” Kiyo says. “I intend to leave here so I can finish my goal. Perhaps it’s selfish of me but I’ve only been thinking about my sister when trying to find a way out. Although…”

Shuichi raises an eyebrow. “What’s wrong, Shinguji?”

“Amami has sisters too, doesn’t he?” Kiyo asks. “Twelve, if I’m correct. I’m sure that they’d be fine friends for my sister. If they’re anything like Amami is, of course.”

“Do you like Amami?”

“He certainly has a kind soul,” Kiyo says. “And I must admit that he’s rather attractive too. I would’ve made an advance on him if the circumstances were different. However, I am not foolish enough to start a relationship whilst inside of a game. I don’t think harbouring feelings for someone whilst stuck inside of a killing game would end well.”

Shuichi nods. “No, it wouldn’t.”

Kiyo finishes off his cup of tea. “However, that doesn’t mean that I won’t be looking out for him. I want to see him reunited with his sisters. I can’t imagine how they would all feel knowing where there brother is currently. I know my sister wouldn’t be happy. Although, she’d also tell me this is a prime time to study everyone.”

Shuichi politely smiles. “I’ll just have to work harder and find us all a way out. I just have this feeling that I’m almost there. Maybe the files will help.”

“I don’t understand how you have the patience to read through them all,” Kiyo says dryly. “It would take me a couple of days at least to read through them and that would include breaks. Maybe you should rest for a while.”

“No thank you.” Shuichi picks up file number nine. He has a stack of them next to his comfy armchair. “I can’t rest now. I can have all of these read through by tomorrow morning. Besides, there’s not enough time to wait.”

“Excuse me if I sound rude but you’re sounding almost like Akamatsu,” Kiyo suddenly says. 

Shuichi almost drops the file but catches it at the last second. “This...this is different.”

“Yes, but Akamatsu also exhausted herself,” Kiyo points out. “I’m not saying that things would’ve played out differently if Akamatsu was more alert but I would advise that you don’t make yourself tired. It’s very unhealthy.”

“I promise I know what I’m doing,” Shuichi responds. He rubs his eyes. He’s tired and he feels a headache coming on but he knows that even if he did try to fall asleep now, he wouldn’t be able to. “I’m used to not falling asleep until it’s rather late, or, well, early. I have insomnia.”

“Oh, I see.” Kiyo puts one hand on top of another. “I suppose the stress of the killing game hasn’t helped much.”

“No.” Shuichi shakes his head. “Momota’s exercising helped but I don’t think it’s smart to continue that anymore.”

“I suppose,” Kiyo says as his eyelids start to flutter. “Pardon me but I myself am getting rather sleepy. You wouldn’t mind if I tried to get some sleep?”

“Of course not,” Shuichi says. “I’ll just be reading through these files.”

“Be sure to mark anything that seems important. I might have a read over some in the morning.”

Shuichi concentrates on file number nine as Kiyo climbs into his sleeping bag and zips it up. The anthropologist puts a pillow under his head and closes his eyes facing the fire.

Now, all Shuichi can hear are the flames that pop every so often and Kiyo’s soft breathing. At least he doesn’t snore. Due to the peaceful atmosphere, Shuichi is able to successfully read through a couple more files without any interruptions. 

He has to admit that none of them are helpful. All he’s reading are murder plots and he really doesn’t want to read those sort of things but he has a feeling that all fifty two files are going to be the same thing over and over. There is some sort of a theme going on, however. 

The first murder will always be for one person. The second murder is also for one person but seems to be much more difficult. The third murder seems to always involve two people for whatever reason. The forth murder goes back to having only one victim. Finally, the fifth murder seems to have the most confusing plot. There doesn’t seem to be many sixth murders. Instead, the files will usually end after the fifth one or say that the rest of the participants from the files are dead.

Shuichi shudders as he reaches for a new file and opens it carefully. His cut hand still throbs slightly but he’s glad that Rantaro managed to help him so quickly. It was a weird sensation. Only one other person has ever held his hand so softly before. 

It seems that this file is also similar to the rest of them. There’s five murders in total, resulting in six victims and five murderers. The file ends saying that everyone left. Shuichi looks at the pictures. The older files had drawings instead of photos. This file contains drawings but these ones seem to have been drawn digitally. Strange.

He puts the file down with a sigh and turns to the clock. It’s currently two in the morning. Shuichi yawns and stretches. When he checks on Kiyo, he sees that the anthropologist is fast asleep. 

As Shuichi reaches for a new file, he’s startled when he hears what seems to be footsteps outside of his lab. He swallows and puts the file back down. Really, he should wake Kiyo up and have the two of them investigate together. That’s what his brain is screaming for him to do. However, Shuichi finds himself moving towards the door all on his own. He takes a deep breath before twisting the door handle and opening the door a crack. 

It’s dark out but he can clearly see someone. He feels his heartbeat pick up. 

There’s only one person. 

He listens as their footsteps echo loudly, pausing occasionally. It seems that they’re pacing. 

Shuichi shrinks behind the door, crouching down but still holding on tightly to the handle. He can still see the figure walking up and down, a dark figure hidden in a darker darkness. He narrows his eyes. If he tries hard enough then maybe he can try and figure out who they are.

It’s clear that something really strange is going on. There’s only one person upstairs and that can’t be right. Monokuma clearly said that you had to stay with your partners at all times. What on earth is going on? This can’t be right! This is all wrong, wrong, wrong. 

He holds his breath as he hears the figure gets closer to his lab door and he squeezes himself into a small ball, hoping that he isn’t spotted. Shuichi doesn’t know what sort of trouble he’ll be in if he’s caught. It’s clear that there’s only one person who has this sort of power to walk around freely. 

Shuichi peeks through the small slice of space he’s made with the door. This has to be the mastermind, right? There’s no way that Monokuma would allow anyone else to walk around like this. 

He’s silent as they brush past his door and Shuichi’s eyes widen when he spots a skirt stroke against his lab door. A skirt.

Then that means…

Shuichi backs away from the door with his hand covering his mouth. What should he do? Should he throw open the door right now and find out who the mastermind is? It would be so easy. He’s so close to finding out who the mastermind is. He can do it. He needs to do it. All he needs to do is be brave like Kaito...be brave like Kaede.

Only, he doesn’t get the chance.

He falls backwards onto the floor when he looks up and sees an eye peering through the crack of the door. He feels all the air leave him as the eye stares down at him. It’s scary but maybe whoever is on the other side of the door is scared too as their eye widens. Clearly, they didn’t know or remember that Shuichi and Kiyo were in the lab. Maybe they thought that they’d both be asleep?

Shuichi knows that it’s now or never. He lunges for the door handle and swings the door open.

The only thing he manages to catch a glimpse of is the figure running away. Shuichi wants to cry out to them but they’re already gone.

They were wearing a skirt. 

Gasping for breath, Shuichi pulls himself up and uses a table for support as his knees wobble. He feels light headed. They were just outside of his lab. The mastermind was outside of his lab.

They saw him. 

Shuichi’s hand shakes as he covers his mouth and takes deep breaths. He’ll be really useless if he starts panicking now. What should he do? Should he wake Kiyo up and chase after the mastermind? Should he wait until tomorrow to try and confront them? He still doesn’t know who they are but at least his list of suspects has been narrowed down. 

Will everyone be okay if he waits a little longer? They have to be, right? Everyone else is downstairs in the same room. Surely, the mastermind wouldn’t attempt another murder with so many people around?

Then, Shuichi turns around. He’s only got one other person in the room. 

The mastermind knows that he’s trapped.

Shuichi kneels next to the sleeping anthropologist and starts to shake his arm. “Shinguji? Shinguji!”

Kiyo sits up in alarm. “Saihara? What’s the matter?” 

“We aren’t safe here,” Shuichi hurriedly says. “We need to be with everyone else!”

“What happened?”

“I think I saw them,” Shuichi says as he continues to tug on Kiyo’s arm. “Shinguji, I saw them! I saw the mastermind!”

“Are you sure?” Kiyo starts to rub his eyes. “How are you certain?”

“There was only one person outside of the room!” Shuichi explains anxiously. “I saw a figure and they by themselves! I would’ve heard if there were two people but there was only one! T-They saw me! We aren’t safe here!”

Kiyo tries not to stumble as Shuichi pulls him from his sleeping bag. “Won’t we be in more danger with everyone else?”

“No, the mastermind wouldn’t try and attack us if there’s plenty of witnesses. We’re in danger here! They could kill us both without anyone realising!”

Kiyo frowns as he puts a hand each on Shuichi’s shoulders. “I think you need to take some deep breaths. You’re panicking.”

Only then does Shuichi realise that maybe he’s acting a little too frantic. A little too anxious. He realises that his hands are trembling and shoves them into his armpits in an attempt to hide how badly startled he is. He breathes using his mouth and his nose, closing his eyes. It only helps slightly. He’ll feel better when he’s with everyone else.

“I suppose we should get going,” Kiyo says and he starts to gather up his sleeping bag. “I must say that was the most eventful wakeup call I’ve ever experienced.”

“S-Sorry.”

Shuichi restlessly walks over to the large chair and picks up the file he was reading. He’ll bring some with him to read. Maybe it would be for the best if he picks up some of the later files? All of the files he’s read so far have been the same. Shuichi snatches the last couple of files on the bottom row and speeds out the door along with Kiyo as he tries to ignore the feeling that he’s being watched.

\---

Kokichi shamelessly tries wakes everyone up in the morning. 

“Wakey wakey everyone!”

“Ouma, it’s too early,” Himiko grumbles as she shoves her face into her pillow. “Go back to sleep.”

“But I can’t!” Kokichi whines and climbs over at least three people to start shaking Himiko’s arm. “I’ve tried for ages but I’m wide awake!”

“And I’m not.” Himiko promptly falls back asleep. 

Kokichi stares at her as his mouth falls open. Okay then. 

However, something different catches his eyes. Kokichi tilts his head when he spots Shuichi and Kiyo near the entrance of the room. Kiyo is sleeping inside of a sleeping bag whilst Shuichi dozes with a file still open on his lap. Kokichi decides to crawl over to the two of them and grins when he thinks about all the ways he can wake them up. 

“Don’t you dare.”

Rantaro lifts his head up from his pillow and throws the pillow at Kokichi. 

“Rantaro, you meanie!”

“Don’t wake them up,” Rantaro says, his voice rough with sleep.

Kokichi sighs loudly as he sits next to Rantaro, hugging the pillow to his chest. “Fine. Whatever. When did they even get here anyway? I thought that they were staying inside of Saihara’s lab?”

“That’s what I thought,” Rantaro admits. “I woke up a couple of times during the night. One moment they weren’t there and the next they were. It was kind of scary, actually. Still, it’s probably for the best that we’re all in the same room. I was a little nervous for them both being secluded from everyone.”

“That’s because Rantaro worries too much!” Kokichi smiles and yawns into the pillow. “He should chill out a little.”

“I am chill!”

“Yeah, yeah. Whatever you say. Hey, do you think you can wake Harukawa up? I really need to pee but I don’t want her to snap my neck or anything.”

Rantaro rolls his eyes but sits up anyway. He spots Maki sleeping sitting up. Her back is against a chair leg, more specifically, the chair leg of Kaito’s chair. Her head is resting on his legs. She looks comfortable. 

He tiptoes around the students and kneels in front of Maki.

“Harukawa,” he says as he puts a hand on her shoulder.

Her eyes snap open. Maki relaxes when she realises that it’s only Rantaro. 

“What’s wrong?”

“Ouma needs the bathroom.”

Maki groans as she puts her head in her hands. “Monokuma and his dumbass rules. I’m so sick of them.”

“Maybe you’ll get a new partner soon?”

“Maybe.”

Rantaro watches as Maki stomps across the room and snatches Kokichi’s wrist. He seems upset by the action and pulls it away. The two glare at each other before Maki settles on grabbing his shoulders and pushing him out of the room.

He’s surprised when he realises that there’s movement coming from Kaito’s chair. Rantaro looks up to see Kaito stretching and his headset on the chair next to him. Kaito rubs his eyes and stands up to crack some of his bones. When he notices Rantaro on the floor next to his chair, he waves at him excitedly. 

“Rantaro, bro! How’s things been? Maki hasn’t gotten sick of Ouma yet, has she?”

“She’s just taken him to the bathroom now,” Rantaro says. “But more importantly, how have you been? Has being inside of the program helped you at all?”

“Bro, I feel so good right now!” Kaito admits and Rantaro wonders if Kaito is lying or is really feeling better. “I feel like I’ve just had the longest nap ever! I decided to leave though because I was getting bored. There’s only so much you can do on your own inside of a house. I thought Shuichi was supposed to join me anyway?”

“He’s been busy,” Rantaro says and gestures over to the detective.

Kaito smiles warmly. “I didn’t know people could sleep sitting up like that. Even his hand is still hovering!”

It’s true. Shuichi’s hand is still hovering over the file as if he was about to turn a page. Even Rantaro starts to smile. 

“We’re trying to find a way out,” Rantaro say. “I think we got somewhere yesterday. I can’t confirm anything yet but I’m feeling confident that we might get somewhere today.”

“Man, that’s great!” Kaito excitedly slaps Rantaro on the back, knocking him forwards. “You’re all doing so well, you know that? I knew I could rely on my sidekicks and my best bro!” 

Rantaro winces. “It was actually Saihara who helped us make progress yesterday. You should be proud of him.”

“I’m always proud of all my sidekicks!” Kaito responds. “All the time! It’s like watching kids grow up, you know?”

“Uh…” Rantaro rubs the back of his head. “You think of Harukawa and Saihara as your...kids?”

“What? No! Not literally!”

“Oh.” Rantaro puts his hands on his hips. “Well, I suppose I understand what you’re saying.”

“Right!”

“Can you both fucking keep it down? Some of us are still trying to sleep!”

Miu rolls over and cuddles further into her blanket. Only the top of her head is currently visible. Her blond curls are spread across her pillow messily. 

Kaito pulls a face. “Well excuse me…”

Rantaro brightens up when he spots Kirumi start to wake up. She somehow manages to look elegant as she wakes up. Her hair naturally falls back into place and Rantaro finds that really unfair. He runs a hand through his messy bedhead. 

Still, he’s doing better than Kaito, who is obliviously rocking a rather messy look. 

“Tojo!” Kaito cries happily. The astronaut clearly doesn’t notice how Kirumi jumps and puts a hand on her chest. She hides her scare with a small smile as Kaito steps over people to see her. “Good morning!”

“Good morning, Momota. You seem to be doing better,” Kirumi says as she starts to sort out her skirts. “I’m glad.”

“Yeah!” Kaito really does seem pleased. “I mean, it was a little boring and there wasn’t anything to do but I stayed there for as long as I could! I need to get better so I can keep an eye on you all, you know? I can’t just let all my sidekicks do all of the work!”

“Indeed.” Kirumi takes Kaito’s hand when he offers to help her up. “Well, it’s amazing that the program is actually helping you.”

“Yeah, well,” Kaito says as he looks to the side. “I’ll admit, it’s doing a pretty good job! Although, I’m not sure it’s going to actually heal me, you know? Still, I feel great just after one night so maybe things will work out in the end!”

“Your endless optimism never ceases to amaze me,” Kirumi responds. “But it’s a welcome change. I truly am glad that you are feeling better, Momota.”

Kaito grins and acts like he’s just won the lottery. “Anyway, what are the plans for today? I know that I should be technically be resting but I don’t want to sit around all day! Also, I’m sure Shirogane must be losing her mind right now! I’d be bored sitting around all day too!”

“Shirogane understands that you need to stay in here,” Kirumi says softly. “Momota, I know you want to help but we can’t take any chances. From the looks of things, Saihara is trying his best to find a way out of here for you. You trust him, right?”

“Of course I do!” Kaito slams his fists together. “But I don’t want him to do all the work! A hero needs to chip in too!”

“You can help everyone by getting better,” Rantaro tells him and feels bad when Kaito starts to pout like a little kid. “Kaito, we do appreciate that you want to help but all you can do right now is to try and not push yourself. Everyone would be devastated if you were to suddenly pass.”

“I’m not that sick,” Kaito quietly says. “But I guess if it means that much to everyone then I’ll stay inside the program just a little longer. Just, can I have some breakfast first? I wasn’t hungry inside of the world but man! The moment I took the headset off I felt starving! Tojo, what’s for breakfast?”

Kirumi blinks. “Well, whatever everyone wants, I suppose.”

“Great! I was thinking maybe something like pancakes,” Kaito continues. “Man, I haven’t had them in ages and I’m craving them right now.”

“You crave delicious pancakes?” Now Tsumugi is wide awake. “Just remember, be careful when talking about pancakes! You never know who might be listening! It could be anyone, even a cat!”

“Uh…” Kaito reels backwards. “Is this another one of your anime references?”

Tsumugi nods happily. “Yes!”

“Ah, good morning, Shirogane.” Kirumi bows. “I hope that your headache is gone. You looked rather pale yesterday.”

Tsumugi rubs her cheek with a finger. “It’s all gone now! I’m not really sure what caused it though…”

“We can be sick buddies together!” Kaito declares cheerfully. 

“Okay, Momota!”

Rantaro raises an eyebrow when he hears someone start to groan and spots Miu sitting up on her makeshift bed. She huffs as she reaches into her pocket and discreetly shoves something into her ear. 

“I can’t believe how inconsiderate everyone here is,” Miu grumbles as she runs a hand through her knotted hair. “All I wanted was some sleep!”

“My apologies, Iruma.” Kirumi genuinely seems apologetic. “What can I do to make it up to you. Coffee?”

“Yes fucking please.”

“Uh, Tojo?” Tsumugi wraps her hands together. “You are aware that you’ll have to bring Iruma down with you to make her coffee, right? I’m not sure if you’ll be making it up to her at all.”

“It’s fine,” Miu says, surprising everyone in the room. “I need to take a piss anyway. I’ve been holding it in all night!”

Kirumi’s face flashes with panic. “I see! Then I suppose we should set off as soon as possible.”

Kirumi quickly marches Miu out of the room.

“What a strange girl,” Tsumugi muses. 

“Who? Tojo or Iruma?” Kaito asks. 

Tsumugi blinks. “Um…”

The conversation is brought to a halt when the door to the computer room opens. Maki’s eyes light up when she sees that Kaito us up and well. Kokichi decides to full on tackle the astronaut.

“H-Hey! Get off me!” Kaito grimaces at the smaller boy who has latched himself around Kaito’s waist.

Kokichi grins. “But my beloved Momota looks so much better! Did that dumb bitch actually create something to help you? I’m shocked!”

“You shouldn’t speak about Iruma like that,” Rantaro scolds. 

“And please get off me!” Kaito finally manages to tear the boy from his waist. He sighs deeply. “Phew! Man, you have a tight grip for a small guy.”

“Nishishi! I try!”

Maki shyly prowls towards the group. “I’m glad that you’re looking better, Momota.”

“Oh yeah, totally!” Kaito pumps his fists. “At this rate, I’ll be back to my usual self in no time!”

“Is your illness going away?” Maki asks hopefully.

“Eh? W-Well!” Kaito rubs his nose. “I feel like it is, you know? Just give me a couple of days and I’ll be back to normal for sure! I can feel it, Maki! Nothing can stop the Luminary of the Stars!” 

Maki actually smiles at this. “I’m...glad.”

“Wow, I can’t believe that Momota isn’t going to die anymore! I’m so relieved!” Kokichi wipes away a fake tear. “You had us all worried there for a second, Momo-chan! It’s simply amazing how your illness and just suddenly disappeared! It’s a miracle!”

“I never said it disappeared!” Kaito huffs. “And who are you calling Momo-chan? That isn’t a manly name at all!”

Kokichi giggles mischievously. “But it suits you!”

“Momota? Is he annoying you?” Maki asks. “I can sort him out if you really want.”

“Ran-chan! Help me!” Kokichi puts himself behind Rantaro’s back and peers over his shoulders. Kokichi is probably standing on the tips of his toes. 

“Maki, play nice,” Kaito warns. “We all just need to, I don’t know, get along for now? We’re so close to leaving! I’m not letting anyone else die under my watch!”

“But Momota, you’ll be inside of the program for a while,” Tsumugi points out. “You won’t be watching anyone!”

Kaito slams his knuckles together noisily. “I meant what I said! No one is dying, you hear me?!”

“Keep it down! I’m trying to sleep!” Himiko’s voice calls from under her pillow. 

“You should probably consider waking up soon,” Tsumugi tells her. “I think Tojo is bringing up some breakfast for us all!”

“Breakfast?” Himiko’s head pops out from under her pillow. “Then I suppose I can get up. I need something to eat to recharge my mana.”

“What about those two?” Rantaro asks as he gestures to a still sleeping Kiyo and Shuichi. “Shall we wake them up?”

“Maybe we should give them a little longer?” Tsumugi quickly suggests. “Who knows what time they got here! They’re both probably really exhausted.”

“Aw, Shirogane! You’re so kind!” Kokichi gushes. “It’s just a shame I’m not!”

“Ouma, wait-”

“Wakey wakey!”

Kokichi cups his hands around his mouth as he starts to jump up and down excitedly. This results in Kiyo jolting awake as he rises from his sleeping back with breakneck speed. Shuichi jolts and knocks the file he was reading from his lap. It lands on the floor and pages start to fly everywhere.

“Why must everyone wake me up in such a strange manner?” Kiyo complains as he turns his head from side to side. His neck pops in a satisfying way. “This is the second time today that this has happened. If this continues then I’ll have to tear out some nerves…”

“Eek!” Kokichi goes back to hiding behind Rantaro, who sighs.

“What do you mean that it’s the second time you’ve been woken up like that?” Maki asks with furrowed eyebrows. 

Kiyo nods. “Yes. It seems that Saihara had woken up in a panic and told me that we had to move down here for the night since we were no longer safe upstairs. As alarming as the situation was, as you can see, we’re both okay.”

“What happened, bro?” Kaito asks. 

Shuichi, still in a sleepy state, blinks slowly. It seems that the events of last night have not yet caught up to him. “Ah, well…”

“Did you find something?” Kokichi hops over to the detective and sits down next to him. “Ooh, this is so exciting! Like a story time! C’mon, tell us!”

“You need to give him a chance to speak,” Rantaro reminds him. 

Kokichi impatiently smiles. 

Shuichi glances around the room, his eyes stopping on every girl he sees. He finally decides to just focus on his hands instead, which are wrapped around a file that he can’t remember the contents of. He drums his fingers against the paper nervously. It’s clear that he’s distressed at the moment.

“You saw someone, correct?” Kiyo prompts him. “You told me that you had seen the mastermind.”

Maki bristles. “You what?”

“Who are they?” Kaito explodes. “Tell me who they are, Shuichi!”

“You weren’t hurt, were you?” Rantaro asks as he glances down at Shuichi’s still wrapped up hand. 

Himiko’s eyes go unnaturally wide. “You know who the mastermind is? Does that mean we can finally go home?”

Tsumugi clasps her hands together. “Can we finally stop the killing game?”

Shuichi shakes his head. “Um, no. Not yet.”

“Why not?” Kokichi asks. “Are you sure that you really saw them?”

“I saw someone outside of my lab,” Shuichi responds. “And they were by themselves. I’m sure of it. Monokuma would’ve punished anyone else if they had left the room without their partner.”

“Wait, so you’re saying that you didn’t actually see who it was?” Maki asks as she flexes her hand.

“I did get a clue,” Shuichi says. The paper crinkles under the grip of his hand.

Kaito pushes his way over to the detective. “Well, what is it? Anything is better than nothing!”

“The sooner you expose them, the better!” Kokichi adds. “Because you’re just a sitting target right now, you know? I’d be absolutely devastated if my beloved Saihara was killed because he knew too much!”

“I am?” Shuichi’s mouth falls open. 

“Don’t worry, the great Kaito Momota will look after you!” Kaito reassures him with a wink and a bright smile. 

“But about that hint,” Himiko says. “What is it?”

Shuichi recoils at her words. “Ah, well, the person I saw was wearing a...skirt.”

“A skirt?” Kokichi repeats. “Huh.”

“The mastermind is a girl?!” Himiko shouts before deflating. “What a pain.”

Maki shakes her head. “No, you must be wrong.”

“It’s what I saw!” Shuichi insists nervously. “Their skirt brushed up against the door which I was next to! I’m confident that it had to have been a skirt.”

“Or maybe a loose article of clothing,” Tsumugi says as she eyes Kaito’s starry jacket.

Kaito splutters. “There’s no way in hell that I’m the mastermind!”

“Yeah, back off, Shirogane!” Kokichi grins. “You’ve got no right to talk! Hey, maybe you’re the mastermind!”

“I’m not!”

“Ah, so the mastermind is a girl,” Kiyo says. He doesn’t hide the disappointment in his voice. “That is such a shame.”

Maki doesn’t look convinced. She crosses her arms. “Saihara, are you sure? Maybe you were just seeing things.”

“I swear I’m correct!” Shuichi responds. “I have no reason to lie!”

“Yeah, Maki! Why can’t you accept that now you’re on the list of potential suspects?” Kokichi sneers. “Are you jealous of all the boys? You can stop staring at me all day now, you know? I was starting to feel paranoid with how much you were glaring at me! Oh, or is it that Maki has a crush on me?”

“Shut up.” Maki’s face goes dark. “I refuse to believe this.”

“Maki,” Kaito murmurs hesitantly. “Shuichi has no reason to lie. If he says that the mastermind is a girl then…”

“I-I’m not the mastermind either!” Tsumugi firmly concludes. “There’s no way someone as plain as me could be the mastermind!”

“I’m too lazy to be the mastermind,” Himiko says. “Running a killing game is way too much effort.”

“Well I’m certainly not the mastermind,” Maki adds.

Kokichi nods eagerly. “Right! It would be super strange if you have two big reveals!”

“Are we all sure that Momota isn’t the mastermind?” Himiko asks. “You could’ve saw his jacket. It kinda looks like a skirt because he doesn’t wear it properly.”

“Hey! I like the way I wear my jacket!” Kaito pouts. “Why would I want to hide the inside of my jacket? It’s super cool!”

“Maybe Ouma was wearing his scarf around his waist to trick Saihara?” Tsumugi suggests with a shaky voice. “That sounds like something he would do!”

“Why would I do that?” Kokichi asks. “If I was the mastermind then I wouldn’t be dumb enough to let myself get caught! There would be absolutely no reason for me to wear my scarf around my waist!”

“W-Well.” Tsumugi hugs herself. “If it isn’t anyone in the room then the mastermind must either be Tojo or Iruma!”

“Iruma’s too stupid to be the mastermind,” Kokichi snidely says as he puts a finger to his mouth.

“So are you saying that perhaps Tojo is the mastermind?” Kiyo says. 

“Huh. Maybe she is?” Himiko slowly says. “She’s efficient. She’d run a successful killing game.”

Rantaro shakes his head. “But this killing game has been everything but successful. Kiibo’s death clearly wasn’t planned. It’s obvious that I was supposed to be the first victim and that never happened. Also Monokuma had to meddle with Akamatsu’s crime scene. It’s clear that this game isn’t going how Monokuma or the mastermind intended.”

“Indeed. Tojo would’ve made sure everything was running smoothly,” Kiyo agrees. “She simply cannot be the mastermind. There’s too much evidence to suggest otherwise.”

“We’re all panicking over nothing,” Maki states. “Saihara could’ve just been seeing things. It’s dark on the top floor of the academy. Maybe-”

“Shut up already!” Kokichi whines. “Aren’t you satisfied that we’re one step closer to finding the mastermind? Or are you just disappointed? Boo hoo, well sorry to say, Harukawa, but I’m not the person you’ve been looking for!”

“You thought that Ouma was the mastermind?” Rantaro asks in disbelief. “Why?”

“Because she doesn’t like me,” Kokichi answers with a pout. “Harukawa is just a big meanie after all. All she knows is how to kill people. If she doesn’t like someone then she probably just kills them. She was hoping that I was the mastermind because then she’d be killing two birds with one stone!”

Maki seethes. “You’re the only person who has been enjoying this killing game. What did you expect?”

“Hmm…” Kokichi puts a finger to his lip. “I’m not quite sure actually.”

“Unbelievable.”

Kaito tentatively looks from Kokichi to Shuichi. “Bro, are you certain that you saw a skirt last night? It would help us narrow down our list of suspects but...I just can’t believe that one of them is the mastermind.”

“I know what I saw,” Shuichi says. “And they saw me too. They ran as soon as they saw me.”

“The masterminds knows that you saw them?” Kokichi whistles. “Ouch.”

“Oh, so that’s why you moved down here,” Himiko says. “I guess that makes sense.”

“Still.” Rantaro crosses his arms. “This isn’t a good situation to be in. The mastermind might do something dangerous now that they know they could be exposed any second. We all need to be extra careful from now on.”

“Perhaps we should use the handcuffs,” Kaito begrudgingly says. “It’ll be uncomfortable but...shit.”

“And what about the unlucky person that gets handcuffed to the mastermind?” Kiyo tilts his head. “They’ll be in the most danger.”

“Oh! Oh!” Kokichi sticks his hand up in the air. “What if we all handcuff everyone together? We can all walk around in one big chain! Isn’t that exciting?” 

“That sounds like it’ll be a pain,” Himiko responds.

“But it’ll be safe,” Rantaro says. “As awkward as it sounds…”

Maki puts her foot down. “There’s no need to do something as stupid as that. Besides, it won’t work. Momota still needs to stay in this room.”

“I can’t just sit around now that we’re so close to find the mastermind!” Kaito insists. “Besides, I’m feeling fine! If we all work together then-”

“Excuse me for interupting but how are we going to figure out the mastermind’s identity anyway?” Kiyo questions. “Now that they know that they’re in danger of being exposed, they’ll most likely do anything to stop us all. I do think that it’s safer if we all stick together from now on.”

Himiko nods. “That way the mastermind can’t do anything because they’re going to be watched all the time. That’s a smart idea. I feel safer already.”

“Wow! You have a lot of confidence for someone who could be the mastermind,” Kokichi gasps. “I still can’t believe that a nasty girl has been running this game the entire time! Chabashira must be turning in her grave right now.”

“Tenko would want us to stop the mastermind regardless if they were a girl or not,” Himiko says quietly. “She’d was us all the be safe.”

“Really?” Kaito raises an eyebrow. “I thought she would’ve only wanted the girls to be safe.”

“She would want everyone to be safe,” Himiko firmly repeats.

The group face the door when it opens. Kirumi walks in with a trolley that has several plates on with silver bowls over the top of them. There’s also several cups of coffee. No one questions how the Ultimate Maid even managed to carry the trolley up several flights of stairs without ruining everything. 

“Ah, good morning everyone,” Kirumi says. “Momota requested pancakes for breakfast and so that’s what I brought up with me. However, if anyone has a different request then I’ll happily go back down and prepare some different dishes.”

“I won’t,” Miu adds as she nurses a pink cup. “So you assholes better eat the fucking pancakes.”

“Hmm,” Kokichi says as he flutters his eyelashes. “But I was craving some-”

“Don’t you dare!” Miu cries.

“Ahh!”

Kirumi frowns as she glances at the group. “My apologies but did something happen? You’re all looking rather tense. If you really don’t like the breakfast that I’ve made I will-”

“It’s not that,” Maki says. “Saihara thinks he saw the mastermind last night and is convinced that they're a girl.”

“Oh.” Kirumi lets go the trolley handle. “I...see.”

“Why’s he convinced they're a girl?” Miu asks in outrage.

Himiko answers. “Well, he said he saw a skirt-”

“He’s been looking up girl’s skirts?!” Miu starts to tremble. “P-Pathetic virgin!”

“That’s not what Yumeno said,” Kiyo says with a sigh. “It seems Saihara managed to catch a glimpse of someone upstairs. It wouldn’t have been too unusual but it seems that the person was by themselves. The only thing Saihara managed to see was that they were wearing a skirt.”

“And it wasn’t me!” Kaito adds. 

Kirumi blinks. “Well you clearly aren’t wearing a skirt, Momota.”

“How do we know he’s not fucking lying?” Miu asks. “He could just be trying to trick us all! Maybe he’s the mastermind and he’s just trying to move the suspicion?”

“Saihara can’t be the mastermind,” Rantaro says. He thinks back to Motherkuma. Even she seemed adamant that Shuichi isn’t the mastermind. “Listen, we just need to stay together as one group until we figure out who the mastermind really is. No one is going to start pointing any fingers, alright?”

“That’s right!” Kaito easily agrees. “We’re all going to stick together! My sidekicks are going to sort everything out!”

“But Momota, one of you sidekicks is a girl!” Kokichi points out. “So we can’t trust Harukawa anymore! Oh, the horror!”

“But Maki isn’t the mastermind!” Kaito insists. “Because she’s my sidekick and I believe in all of my sidekicks!”

“Momota, I’m afraid belief isn’t going to cut it this time,” Kiyo says. “I think Harukawa should sit out any further investigating for a way out.”

“But!” Kaito splutters. “She’s not-”

“Until we find more evidence, we can’t trust any girls right now,” Kokichi says. “So I’ll replace Harukawa as your sidekick, okay?”

“I don’t want you as my sidekick!”

“But I’m definitely not the mastermind!” Kokichi protests. “Which means you should be trusting me more than anyone in this room!”

“You can’t go out and investigate,” Maki says with a glare. “I’ll still be watching over Momota. He’s staying in the program whether he likes it or not.”

“It’s Momota’s choice if he wants to go back into the program,” Kokichi argues. “Jeez! You’re acting like a jealous, shitty girlfriend right now!”

“I want to keep him safe.”

“He’s only safe if we can find a way out of here!” Kokichi responds loudly. “All you want to do is sit around and not do anything! You’re slowing down the investigation just by insisting on staying in this room. You’re not helping Momota, you’re just lowering his chances of getting out of here alive!”

Maki’s lips turn a light pink as they get thinner. Her expression turns unreadable as the red on her eyes get smaller and scarier. However, Kokichi continues to stare at her disapprovingly with a blank face. 

Tsumugi shuffles backwards. “Guys, maybe we should just drop everything for now and-”

“ _How dare you_.”

Kokich is either incredibly brave or incredibly stupid as he doesn’t even flinch when Maki puts her face in front of his. She’s trembling but it’s obvious that she isn’t scared. She’s furious. 

“Getting Momota out of here is my main priority,” Maki snaps. “I can’t get him out of here alive if someone kills him. I don’t want to waste any time but how can I protect him if I leave him on his own!”

“He’s got Shirogane,” Kokichi fires back. 

“She’s weak. She’d easily get overwhelmed by any killer,” Maki responds. “I can’t trust anyone here to keep him safe but me.”

“But you’re wasting my time!” Kokichi stresses. “Do you think that I want to sit around here all day?”

“Guys, c’mon,” Kaito sighs as he steps between the two. “Let’s not do this right now. Maki, I’m really not as ill as you think I am. We’re all so close to figuring out the mastermind! I can handle one day away from the program. I’ve survived this long without it!”

“But-”

“Harukawa, shut up!” Kokichi groans. “Stop going around in circles! Even Momota wants you to stop being so pathetic!”

“Hey! I didn’t say that!” Kaito blanches. 

“It would be beneficial if we had everyone searching for clues,” Kirumi suddenly chimes in. “Pardon the interruption but I cannot allow you all to keep arguing. We’re wasting precious time. Harukawa, perhaps you should consider a compromise? As soon as Momota says he’s ready to go back into the program then you can watch over him. Until then, we’re all going to stick together.”

Maki opens and closes her mouth.

Kaito sighs in relief. “That’s a great plan, Tojo!”

“I’m glad that there’s at least one other smart person in this room that isn’t me!” Kokichi gleefully says. 

“Hey! I’m the gorgeous girl genius!” Miu snaps. “My golden brains are going to go down in history, baby!”

“Are we all done arguing now?” Himiko asks. Her eyes flicker over to the plates of breakfast and a moment later, her stomach growls loudly. “I want breakfast.”

“Ah, that’s right!” Kirumi rushes over to the trolley. “They should all still be warm if we start to eat now. My apologies everyone but we should all eat first before we discuss any further plans.”

“That’s right, we won’t be able to think things through properly on an empty stomach,” Kiyo agrees. 

Maki doesn’t seem satisfied but it seems she knows that she’s been defeated. She reluctantly snatches a plate of her own before storming over to the opposite end of the room. 

“She’s angry because she knows I’m right,” Kokichi says as Kirumi hands him a plate. 

Kirumi clicks her tongue. “You shouldn’t provoke her though. She has probably realised that she may be wasting time protecting Momota but I see why she wants to. Now that there’s less of us, everyone starts to grow into bigger targets. Momota is currently rather vulnerable given his state. Harukawa just wants to keep him safe.”

“It’s rather romantic, isn’t it?” Tsumugi gushes as she lifts the silver bowl from her plate. She inhales the scent of the pancakes and lets out an appreciative sound. “Tojo, these smell delicious!”

“I’m glad.”

“Yeah, these look so good,” Kaito agrees as he starts to drool. “I’m really glad I asked for these.”

“Tojo’s skills never fails to amaze me,” Kiyo admits as he sits with his plate. “I already know that I’ll be enjoying these.”

Rantaro nudges Shuichi, who blinks at his own plate of food. “Hey, is everything okay?”

“Oh!” Shuichi’s grip gets tighter on his plate. “I think so. I’m just a little stressed, that’s all.”

“Hey,” Rantaro says as he ruffles his hair. “You’ll have the whole group watching out for you. If you’re worried about the mastermind just remember that everyone’s going to be on the lookout for them now. I guess if things get worse you and Shinguji can always hide somewhere else whilst the rest of us look for them.”

“I’m not scared,” Shuichi responds. “I’m glad that we’re so close to finding them. I’m just...worried.”

He doesn’t hide the fact that he’s looking at Kaito.

“Kaito’s fine,” Rantaro says. “He said it himself. If he gets worse again then Harukawa will put him back into the program. Everything will be fine.”

Shuichi makes a face like he wants to argue but instead swallows. “Right. You’re right. I just need to find a little more evidence and it’ll become clear who the mastermind is.”

“Remember, Shinguji will be with you,” Rantaro says. “And if you want, I’ll stay with you too. I know that means I’ll have to bring Yumeno with me but…”

“Be wary of Yumeno!” Kokichi suddenly declares as he dumps himself next to Rantaro. “She’s killed once before! She could probably do it again!”

“Keep your voice down!” Rantaro hisses. “Besides, there will be three people around too. I also have a feeling that she isn’t the mastermind.”

“Oh, a feeling?” Kokichi repeats sarcastically.

Shuichi suddenly perks up, as if he’s just realised something. “Ouma, can I ask you something?”

“Oh? Saihara wants something from me?” Kokichi flutters his eyelashes. “What is it, my beloved?”

“I need your help with something,” Shuichi admits. “Um, is there any chance that you could teach me how to...lie?”

“Eh?” Kokichi turns his head. “But why would Saihara want to know how to lie?”

“It’s really important,” Shuichi explains. “I might be able to figure out who the mastermind is if I can trick someone.”

“Oh? And who is this person you want to trick?” Kokichi asks, looking genuinely interested.

Shuichi looks at Rantaro then back at Kokichi. “It’s not exactly a person, per se.”

Rantaro raises an eyebrow. “You want to tell Ouma about yesterday?”

“Huh? Do you tell Ran-chan about all your dirty secrets but not me? I feel so betrayed!”

Shuichi bites his lip. “It’s just, now that I know the mastermind is a girl…”

“Hurry up! I want to know your dirty secret too!” Kokichi whines, grabbing onto Shuichi’s arm and starting to shake it. “Pleeease!”

“Ah, well…” Shuichi starts. “A group of us found something interesting in the girl’s bathroom yesterday. D-Don’t look at me like that! I got permission from someone to look! It’s just, inside the girl’s bathroom is a hidden hallway that takes you to a hidden room. We found a large Monokuma head inside of the room and she seems to be a little...confused. Maybe if I try to confuse them hard enough then they might let it slip who the real mastermind is.”

Kokichi’s eyes go wide. “Wow! Now that really is a dirty secret!”

“Can you stop calling it a dirty secret?” Rantaro sighs. “It’s better if less people know about it. So far, Yumeno is the only girl who knows about it. She’s not completely clear from the list of suspects but she did seem as surprised as the rest of us when Saihara found the hidden hallway.”

“Aw man.” Kokichi snaps his fingers. “I really want to see the secret room now! It sounds super interesting!”

Shuichi at least looks a little sympathetic. “I understand but your partners with Harukawa. The less people who know about the room, the better. Besides, she’s also on the list of suspects.”

“Don’t worry, my beloved! I understand! I’ll make sure that no stinky Harukawas will find out about the big Monokuma head!”

“So are you going to try and trick the Monokuma head?” Rantaro asks.

Shuichi nods. “I’ll try my best. Shinguji suggested that we should do it last night. If I can’t figure out who the mastermind is then I also want to ask them how to turn the power off for the entire academy. Monokuma proved that it can be done.”

“Eh? Why do you want the power off?” Kokichi asks.

“To power off the tunnels,” Shuichi answers. “Every trap in the tunnel is electronic, right? If we can turn the power off then maybe we can get through the tunnels easier?”

Rantaro’s mouth falls open. “Now that is a smart idea.”

“Saihara is so smart!” Kokichi cooes. “He’s going to get us out of here in no time! I’m sure of it!”

Shuichi bashfully rubs his cheek with a finger. “But I can only get us out of here if you teach me how to lie properly.”

“But of course! I’ll do aaanything for you!” Kokichi answers. 

Rantaro relaxed and shoves a piece of pancake into his mouth. It’s soft and fluffy. 

He’s glad to see Kokichi getting on with someone else for a change. It’s a refreshing sight. On top of that, Rantaro feels hopeful. If Shuichi can trick Motherkuma then maybe they’ll all be leaving sooner as predicted.

\---

It’s a little after lunchtime when Rantaro heads back to the girl’s bathroom with Himiko, Shuichi and Korekiyo. 

“I need to do some more investigating,” Shuichi had told the group. 

Of course, everyone else had wanted to follow but Shuichi had somehow managed to convince the group they couldn’t follow by claiming they were doing more investigating outside. 

“It’s rather spacious outside, isn’t it? Right now, the mastermind might be angry with me and try to get rid of me since I sort of saw them. I’d rather be with a small group right now. Amami already promised that he’d come with me to investigate again too.”

Himiko shudders as she enters the bathroom once more. “Are you sure you want to go back into the room? What if she gets angry at you? She’s already kicked us out once…”

“Because I’m going to make her talk,” Shuichi responds. “She has information I need and I have information she doesn’t want getting out. Well, it’s already gotten out but I’m going to make her think I do. For everyone’s sake, I need to find a way out of the academy before anything bad happens.”

Shuichi opens up the secret passage once more and pulls Kiyo inside. The anthropologist follows him whilst Rantaro and Himiko trail after the two.

Motherkuma doesn’t seem happy to see the four. “What did I say yesterday!? I want you all out of here right now, you hear me?”

“A-Ah but-”

“Are you arguing with me?” Motherkuma asks incredulously. “I’ve never seen four deaths in one go but if you all don’t leave right now, I’m afraid that I will have to dispose of you all! I won’t hesitate!”

Rantaro takes a step forwards. “But we all know something that you don’t. Doesn’t that make you curious?”

“Eh?” Motherkuma narrows her eye. “Eeeeh?!”

“She’s starting to sweat!” Himiko excitedly says. 

“N-No I’m n-not!” Motherkuma lies as sweat rolls down her face. How is she sweating? It’s disturbing. 

“Kukuku. It seems we have peaked your interest,” Kiyo smugly says. “But if you insist that we must leave then-”

“Now wait a second!” Motherkuma calls out desperately. “So maybe I was a little too hasty. Things have been so tough lately! It’s so difficult being a single mother!”

Shuichi blinks. “Huh?”

“I don’t like being kept in the dark!” Motherkuma continues. “It distresses me! And stress isn’t good for the Monokuma! So enlighten me! Is there anything that you would all like to tell me? And don’t lie! I always know when someone is lying!”

Rantaro puts a hand on Shuichi’s shoulder whilst Himiko shuffles her way behind Rantaro. Kiyo doesn’t bother to move but he does cross his arms, as if he’s trying to establish dominance over Motherkuma. Maybe it’s working. Motherkuma warily looks Kiyo up and down and if she could shrink then she probably would.

“I’ve figured out who the mastermind is,” Shuichi says, trying his best not to let his voice shake. 

“Oh?” Motherkuma tilts her head. “Is that so?”

“The mastermind is definitely a girl,” Shuichi continues. That catches Motherkuma off guard as her blue eye widens. “And...I saw them last night.”

“Really? Really, really, really?” Motherkuma responds. “Are you sure about that, mister detective?”

Shuichi nods. “Even though it was dark, I saw them.”

“But I’ve heard that you didn’t see them properly enough,” Motherkuma argues gleefully. “And I’ve heard that you even admitted that you didn’t see them properly! How about that, mister detective?”

“I think you’re bluffing,” Shuichi says. “That you’ve been given false information. I saw the mastermind last night and I’ve already shortened the list of potential suspects. From the looks of things, there’s only five people who could be the mastermind, correct? I could very easily turn that list to one if I wanted to.”

Motherkuma scowls. “Then why haven’t you?”

“Because I don’t want anyone else to die,” Shuichi replies. “And that includes the mastermind.”

“Aw, how sweet!” Motherkuma cooes. “My kids could learn a thing or two from you! But I still think you’re lying! You don’t care about the mastermind! You of all people would want them dead because of what they did to your beloved Akamatsu!”

“That’s wrong,” Shuichi sharply says and grits his teeth. “It’s because of Akamatsu that I don’t want the mastermind to be killed! There’s already been two attempts to get rid of the mastermind and they both failed. People got hurt because of those attempts. I won’t let there be a third. I hate the mastermind with all my being but I rather have them leave with the rest of us if it means that we all get out alive!”

“Oh? How interesting!” Motherkuma’s grin twitches. “S-So you won’t tell everyone who the mastermind is?”

“It depends,” Shuichi barters. “I want to make a deal. If you tell me how to turn off the power to the entire academy then I might consider keeping what I know to myself.”

“You want to know how to turn off all the power?! I can’t tell you that!”

“Then I guess I have no choice,” Shuichi sadly responds and turns to Rantaro. “Hey, Amami-”

“Don’t you dare!” Motherkuma screeches. “I know you’re lying! My sources are never wrong! I know a liar when I see one! Get out of here before I have you removed from this academy permanently!”

Shuichi shakes his head. “But I know who the mastermind is! I already said that I saw her!”

“Then tell me what she looked like!”

“Well, she was wearing a skirt-”

“All of the girls here wear skirts!”

Shuichi blinks. “A-And she, um, she…”

“Hah! I knew it!” Motherkuma laughs. “You were lying! It was a cute attempt, mister, but nothing ever gets past me! Now get out of here! I don’t want to see you ever again!”

“If I may intervene,” Kiyo quickly requests. “But I can confirm that Saihara did see the mastermind last night. If I recall, he was reading some files when-”

“F-File?” Motherkuma stutters. “Did you say that he was reading files?”

“Yeah, I spent most of last night reading them,” Shuichi answers.

Motherkuma hesitates. “You didn’t read any of the later files, did you?”

Shuichi opens his mouth but Rantaro beats him to it. There’s something strange going on here.

“He did,” Rantaro lies. He knows that Shuichi hasn’t read the last file as that was the one on his lap this morning that he finished. “In fact, he figured out who the mastermind was because he read that file.”

Shuichi goes silent as he covers his mouth with his hand.

Motherkuma bristles. “You weren’t meant to find that file yet. Those were meant to be read in order!”

“Huh?” Shuichi blinks.

“Ah! Nothing!” Motherkuma smiles sweetly. “I’m serious now! Bye bye!”

Motherkuma ignores them all when they try to talk to her again. It seems that she’s gone on standby.

“There’s no point staying down here any longer,” Kiyo remarks. “I suppose our best bet is to head back upstairs for now.”

They leave the hidden room as well as the girl’s bathroom. Luckily, no one spots them this time as they leave. 

“The last file,” Shuichi ponders out loud. “It’s still in the computer room…”

“We should hurry,” Kiyo says. “What if the mastermind has seen it then they might destroy the file to slow down the investigation.”

“And if they destroy any useful evidence…” Himiko’s hand trembles. “Then it’ll take ages for us to get out of here!”

They all dash up the stairs together, tripping up steps in desperation to reach the computer room before any chance that they have to leave right now is gone. Rantaro is the one who kicks the door open and all but throws Himiko into the room with himself to get safely inside. 

Kirumi, who is picking up empty dishes from around the room, jolts as the four practically launch themselves into the room noisily. Even Maki looks slightly startled and sits up instantly. 

“Is something wrong?” Tsumugi asks worriedly. “That was a dramatic entrance. Wait. None of you are in danger, right?”

“We are all safe,” Kiyo says. “For now.”

“For now? What did you all do?” Kokichi asks, looking rather impressed.

Himiko pulls on her hat. “Nothing!”

“Do you need me to sort anyone out?” Maki asks and stands up from the chair she was sitting on. “Just give me a place and I’ll go there right now. Is it Monokuma?”

“Uh, no…” Rantaro answers. “Don’t worry, Harukawa. We’re all fine. We all just decided to have a race to the computer room.”

“A race?” Miu responds incredulously. “You dumbasses almost made me shit myself!”

“Saihara? Are you looking for something?” Kirumi asks. “I can help you if you would like.”

Shuichi shakes his head and seems relieved when he picks up a file from the floor. He dusts it off and holds it close to his chest. “Ah, it’s fine. I’ve already found what I was looking for.”

“Oh, do you think that there’s important information in the files?” Kirumi questions as she finishes picking up the plates. “How interesting. You must share with the group what you find afterwards.”

Kokichi sticks his tongue out. “With the entire group? No way! All the girls don’t need to know about anything Saihara figures out.”

“But that means four people will be left in the dark!” Tsumugi frets. “And that’s not very fair.”

“We’re in a killing game. We don’t have time to be fair right now!” Kokichi responds dryly. “If it was the other way around and we knew a boy was the mastermind then we wouldn’t share anything with the boys either! Quit being so paranoid, Shirogane. Unless…” Kokichi gasps loudly. “You’re the mastermind?!”

“I’ve already said I’m not!” Tsumugi cries. “You can’t just throw wild accusations like that around! It isn’t safe!”

“What are we going to do with the mastermind when we find them anyway?” Miu asks. 

“Dispose of them,” Maki says. “That way, we can finally end this stupid killing game.”

“There will be no killing!” Kaito cuts in at last. “We’ll just...have a friendly discussion or something.”

“A friendly discussion?” Kokichi snorts. “What, are you going to get down on your knees and go oh please miss mastermind, please stop this killing game! As if! Why are we all so sure that the game will end when the mastermind is caught anyway? Monokuma will still be around and he’s clearly the biggest threat here!”

“The mastermind is the only one who can recreate Monokuma when he’s broken, yes?” Kiyo points out. “Once we have the mastermind cornered, all we need to do is get rid of Monokuma. It may be a difficult task but once he’s gone then the killing game will be finally over.”

“But Monokuma will just summon the exisals if we try to get him,” Rantaro says. “We also need to distract the monokubs if we want to get close to Monokuma.”

“Fuck distracting! We just break them too!” Miu says. “They haven’t done shit for us!”

“That’s right,” Maki says. “We need to get rid of anything that could potentially harm us.”

“A-Apart from the mastermind!” Kaito hastily adds. “So no killing!”

The group splits off into smaller groups inside of the computer room. Tsumugi sits on the chair that is next to Miu, who is drinking yet another cup of coffee. Maki is sat on her own but is intently staring at Kaito, not trying to hide how obvious her actions are. Kokichi is bothering Kirumi, who is trying to convince Miu to come downstairs with her so she can wash the dishes. She’s failing. Himiko and Kiyo are sat side by side on the floor. Neither of them are talking and Kiyo has even turned his body so that he can’t see the small mage. Finally, Rantaro and Shuichi are sat near the entrance, reading through the final file.

“Maybe she was tricking us,” Shuichi says as he skims through the file once more. “There...really isn’t anything important in here.”

“But this file is different from the other ones,” Rantaro points out. “All the names in this one have been replaced with a mess. All of the other names in the other files are normal.”

“Hmm.” Shuichi slowly flips from one page to the other. “Apart from that, it doesn’t seem too different. All of the murder plans have photos with them, which isn’t strange because the last couple of them have had photos too. The earlier ones actually have drawings inside. I’m just not sure what all this is supposed to mean.”

“Well, it’s clear whatever situation we’re in has happened before,” Rantaro says. “And if there’s fifty two files then…”

Shuichi goes pale. “There’s been fifty two killing games? But why?”

“I really don’t know,” Rantaro admits. “It’s sick that there’s been so many games before ours.”

“Does Monokuma kidnap ultimates so he can force them through killing games?” Shuichi asks. “That’s horrible!”

“Clearly he can’t do it by himself,” Rantaro says. “That’s why he has the mastermind to help.”

“Without the mastermind, this entire game would just collapse,” Shuichi continues. “Clearly, they’ve been reporting back to Monokuma about what we’re up too. However, I don’t understand why Monokuma would then give us a motive where we’re all stuck together. Doesn’t that just make things harder for the mastermind?”

“It does,” Rantaro answers and frowns. “It really doesn’t make sense. The mastermind would have to risk their identity to report back to Monokuma. They’ve already been caught by you so clearly they want this motive to be over as soon as possible.”

“Then that means.” Shuichi swallows. “That another murder may occur soon.”

“Try to relax. We’re all going to try and stick together as much as possible,” Rantaro says. “The pair situation also helps us out. The mastermind can’t just kill their partner to get out of the situation since they’ll be easily figured out. As long as they don’t try to lure us into a large space like outside then we should be fine.”

“Outside?” Shuichi covers his mouth.

“Hey, what are you thinking?”

“It’s just…” Shuichi’s voice is slightly muffled. “Hmm…”

Rantaro lifts his head up when a shadow casts over him. In front of him, Kaito looks uncharacteristically nervous. He’s also holding something in his hands.

“Hey!” Kaito forces out as he sits down in front of the two. He’s pale and Rantaro can’t tell if it’s because Kaito seems really nervous right now or if his illness is bothering him again. “I’m glad that you’re both together right now! I, uh, needed to speak to you both.”

“What’s wrong, Momota?” Shuichi face twists with concern. “Did something happen?”

“Well, not exactly!” Kaito’s smile flickers for a moment. “But I think that I found something that, ah, maybe you should just both look for yourselves.”

Kaito passes something thin towards Shuichi. The detective looks up at Kaito and then down at what has been given to him. 

“Momota, where did you find this?”

“It was under a chair,” Kaito says. “I thought that it maybe fell from the file when you dropped it this morning. I didn’t want to show anyone because then I’d cause a panic but I figured you’d want to see it before shit hits the fan.”

Rantaro leans over Shuichi’s shoulder to look at what Kaito had found. It’s a photo.

“Why has it been torn?” Rantaro asks.

“I found it like that!” Kaito quickly says and shoves his hand in his pocket. “Probably got torn by accident. I tried to look for the other piece but, uh, yeah… it’s missing I guess.”

“Are you sure it’s missing?” Shuichi asks whilst staring at Kaito’s pocket. 

“Totally! You both trust me, right?” Kaito blinks.

“Of course I do!” Shuichi takes a deep breath. “But if this has fallen from the file then…”

“She has to be the mastermind,” Kaito finishes. “She has to be. It can’t be a coincidence that her photo was in that file. She’s clearly done something before.”

Shuichi narrows his eyes as he pulls the photo closer to his face. “But it also looks like she’s standing with someone else…”

“Does it?” Kaito asks. “Huh. I never noticed.” 

Rantaro frowns. Clearly, Kaito is hiding something but...he trusts Kaito. If he’s hiding something, it has to be for a reason right? He hopes so. He really does. 

Shuichi looks up from the photo. “She looks so different though…”

“That’s what I thought,” Kaito says as he rubs the back of his head. “But it’s definitely her. There’s no doubt about it.”

“But what do we do now?” Rantaro asks. 

“Confront them,” Kaito answers. “Right fucking now.”

Shuichi looks bewildered. “So this is it? We’ve found the mastermind?”

“It seems so-”

“Hey, Amami!”

Miu storms over to the group with flushed cheeks. Her hair looks like she’s run her hands through it a couple of times.

“What’s the matter, Iruma?”

“Can you get something from my lab for me?” Miu suddenly asks. “It’s real fucking important.”

“Can it what?” Kaito sighs. “We’re busy right now.”

“Fuck off, space dick. You can wait a couple of minutes, right?” Miu continues as she puts a hand on her hip. “I wouldn’t ask if it wasn’t important. Well, can you or not?”

“Why not ask Tojo to go with you?” Kaito groans. “Seriously, Iruma, Amami is busy right now.”

“H-Hee!” Miu brings her curled hands to her chest. “W-Why are you so mean? I-I can’t go because what if Tojo decides to cave my skull in? The mastermind is a girl, right? I don’t mind girl on girl action but I’m not letting myself die today!”

Kaito opens his mouth but Rantaro beats him to it. “Okay, Iruma.”

“Huh? Really?!” Miu’s shoulders sag in relief. “At least there’s one guy here who does what he’s told!”

“But Amami!” Shuichi shoots Rantaro a panicked look. “We need to-”

“You and Kaito have got this,” Rantaro reassures him and ruffles his hair. “Besides, I’ll be back in a minute. After that, we can confront them together.”

“You promise?”

“I promise.”

Himiko’s head perks up when she notices Rantaro stand up. “Huh, are we going somewhere?”

“We just need to go to Iruma’s lab to grab something,” Rantaro tells her.

Miu follows the two to the door and leans on it, making sure that she hasn’t stepped out of the room. “So I need you to grab some batteries for me.”

“Batteries? What do you need them for?” Himiko asks. 

Miu gestures to her ear. 

“Ah!” Rantaro’s eyes widen in realisation. “Got it.”

“Good! Now hurry up!”

Rantaro loosely holds onto Himiko’s hand as he carefully pulls her from the room and downstairs. 

“What’s the matter?”

“Huh?” Rantaro turns his head slightly and catches Himiko not exactly frowning at him but also not looking happy. 

“You seem tense,” Himiko says. “Your shoulders are all stiff. You’re not scared of me, are you?”

“No, of course not!” Rantaro wills himself to smile. “Everything is fine, Yumeno. I promise.”

“Really?”

“Let’s just say I have a feeling that things are looking up.”

“Oh, that’s a relief,” Himiko says as she starts to lazily smile. “Hopefully we do figure out who the mastermind is. I’d use my magic but I have a feeling that the mastermind is using a really strong magic shield to stop me from figuring out who they are.”

“That’s a shame but don’t blame yourself.” Rantaro opens up the red academy doors. “No one had has good luck finding the mastermind lately so you shouldn’t feel disheartened.”

“The mastermind has to be one crafty girl,” Himiko says. She pouts. “What a pain.”

Rantaro laughs but he can’t help but notice how high it is. He clears his throat and takes Himiko down to Miu’s lab. 

It’s a mess inside. All of the tables that have Miu’s stuff on them are completely scattered with things like screws, nuts and bolts on top. It seems storage boxes are non existent here. Whilst there are a couple of boxes, they’re either crushed or empty. Rantaro wonders what Kirumi would think if she saw this place. She’d probably be really excited to clean it. 

“How are we going to find batteries in a mess like this?” Himiko complains as she kicks a box over. “It’s going to take ages!”

Rantaro sweats. He knows she’s right and he’d really like to get back to the computer room so he can confront the mastermind. However, he also knows that Miu really needs to be able to defend herself so if she needs batteries then he’ll get her some. Maybe if he looks hard enough then he’ll find some quicker than he thinks he will.

They both search through the lab together, Rantaro covering all the high shelves the lab has and searching through boxes. Himiko crawls under the tables and searches on top of them for any signs of batteries. 

The longer they take, the more stressed Rantaro becomes. He really doesn’t have time to look for them. He starts to mentally plan how to look after Miu if anything bad happens. 

“This is hopeless!” Himiko cries just before they hear a loud crash from outside. 

They both stare at each other before holding hands and busting through the lab doors. 

Easily, Rantaro spots the cause of the crash. The window of the top floor of the academy is in pieces. There’s a huge ugly hole in the pretty, colourful glass. 

“W-What?!” Himiko turns pale. “What’s happening?”

“We need to find out,” Rantaro says and pulls her towards the steps. 

However, Himiko screams and Rantaro’s eyes go wide as a large shadow cast over them. He pulls Himiko to his chest and dives out of the way, scraping his elbows on the stone floor as he throws the two of them to safety. Seconds later, an exisal lands where the two had been standing. Rantaro quickly checks on Himiko, who seems to be shaken up but not hurt before frantically looking back at the exisal.

“Wait! I said to fucking wait!”

Kaito flies down the path, breathing loudly as he jumps down the steps two at a time. He doesn’t even seem to notice neither Rantaro or Himiko on the floor and runs past them, chasing the exisal. 

“Stop!”

“Kaito? What’s happening?”

Rantaro helps Himiko up before taking a couple of steps back.

The exisal pauses and Kaito grits his teeth. 

“This is bullshit!” Kaito yells. “Give him back!”

“Give who back? Kaito, what’s going on?”

Rantaro gets his answer and his stomach drops.

Limply dangling from the claw of the exisal is Shuichi Saihara, the Ultimate Detective. 

“Saihara?!” Himiko cries before her hands go to her mouth. “I’m going to be sick.”

Rantaro winces as he hears the chimes of a body announcement play.

“A body has been discovered! Everyone please gather-”

Then, the chimes play again.

“A body has been discovered! Everyone please gather at the academy entrance!”

The exisal takes this as a cue to leave.

“H-Hey! Where do you think you’re going!” Kaito roars and attempts to chase after the exisal. However, he’s quickly stopped he coughs and blood sprays from his mouth. Kaito’s eyes widen as he falls to the floor, blood gushing from his lips. However, his eyes are only fixed on the green exisal that carries Shuichi away and a small part of Kaito realises that this is the last time he’ll see him. “G-God damn it. Not now!”

Rantaro rushes to Kaito’s side, putting a hand on his back as the astronaut heaves. 

“D-Don’t look after me! Go a-after him!”

“Momota, it’s already too late,” Himiko says with a wobbly voice. “We can’t...he’s already…”

“Shut up!” Kaito angrily retorts. “He’s not!”

“Kaito, the body discovery played,” Rantaro says softly. 

“T-Then Monokuma made a mistake!” Kaito argues, swaying as he stands up. He knocks away the hand that Rantaro offers him. “I don’t need your help! I need to save my sidekick!”

“But Momota…” Himiko’s hand drops as Kaito staggers away.

“Amami! Yumeno!”

Kirumi holds her skirts as she dashes down the steps. 

“Thank goodness you’re both okay!” Kirumi says in relief. “You both need to come to the academy right away!”

Rantaro has never seen Kirumi so frazzled before. “The body discovery went off twice. Does that mean someone else..?”

Kirumi nods sadly and closes her eyes. “It isn’t a pleasant sight.”

“But we need to chase the exisal first!” Himiko insists. “It has Saihara!”

Kirumi grimaces and flings her head to the side. “So it really did kill him. That’s why there were two announcements.”

“You knew that the exisal grabbed him?” Rantaro asks. 

“I’ll explain later. Everything happened so fast,” Kirumi responds. She grabs Rantaro’s hand. Her grip is unusually firm. “But please, come with me!”

She leads them up the stone steps. Rantaro worriedly takes one last look at Kaito, who is hammering on a metal looking door. He instead starts to concentrate on the warmth that is seeping through Kirumi’s glove and squeezes her hand.

The front of the academy is a mess. Glass shards cover the area. Some pieces glint beautifully under the sun. 

Some pieces are covered in warm, pink blood. 

In the middle of the glass, with her head flung back and a look of horror on her face lies Tsumugi Shirogane, the Ultimate Cosplayer.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This might be the last chapter for a while. I want to write the investigation and the entire trial before posting any more chapters. I'm really sorry for leaving it on such a cliffhanger :,)


	23. Chapter 23

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So it uhhh turns out I've turned into Kokichi and lied. I said I was going to post the next chapter next year but yeah. Surprise! I'm so sorry that this took me around two months (around two months??) to update :( 
> 
> Truthfully, there's many reasons why I took so long to update. I won't list them all out because that will be boring. Instead, I want to say something else. I was actually super close to rewriting a lot of this story. I had even made a separate chapter talking about how I wanted to rewrite this story. Then I realised that wouldn't be fair because all the kudos, comments and hits this story has is because of the current story I'm writing. Instead, I'm going to finish this story and then write the new idea I had thought of (big maybe. I'll probably take a bit of a break after this story.)
> 
> But I just want to say I'm really sorry for taking to long to update. I really do hope you all enjoy this chapter! Truthfully, I haven't actually written the entire trial but I'm confident that I've put everything in this chapter. 
> 
> I'm not sure when I'm going to update next. Hopefully it won't take over a month :,)
> 
> (Sorry if there's any mistakes. I've checked a couple of times so I'm sure that there shouldn't be any or too many.)

The pure look of horror on Tsumugi’s face sends shivers down Rantaro’s spine. She looks so...terrified. 

“Be careful where you stand,” Kirumi says as she starts to nudge pieces of glass to the side using her shoe. “There’s glass everywhere. I may have to spend some of the investigation sweeping this up so no one injures themselves. Iruma, I recommend you stand near the door for now. Actually, perhaps you should investigate inside.”

“Is it really that bad?” Miu asks as she shuffles backwards, narrowly dodging pieces of glass. Her long heels keep her safe to a degree. 

“It certainly isn’t a pretty sight,” Kiyo responds sadly. “Ah, what a horrific way to go.”

Rantaro glances up at the window on the top floor. “She must’ve been pushed from all the way up there, right?” 

“That’s really high up,” Himiko says as she covers her mouth with her hands. “She must’ve been so scared.”

Kirumi’s face scrunches up with sympathy. “Indeed. However, she must’ve died rather quickly. I doubt that anyone would live long after falling from such a height.”

“So she didn’t suffer,” Kiyo says. 

“She’s dead,” Himiko deadpans. “There’s nothing good to come from this at all.”

Miu crosses her arms. “Yeah, but didn’t you all decide that she was the fucking mastermind or some shit? That’s why you all went after her, right?”

“What?” Rantaro’s mouth drops open. He’d only left to grab some batteries. Sure, he had seen the picture that Kaito had found but why did everyone suddenly jump to the conclusion that Tsumugi was actually the mastermind? “You all did this to her?”

“Heavens no,” Kiyo answers. “In fact, I must admit that I have no clue who pushed her. So much happened at once, you see. We were all split up since all the exisals decided to raid the computer room.”

“But why?” Himiko asks as her voice starts to tremble. “Why did the exisals attack you all? Is that why Saihara is dead too?!”

“Allow me to explain,” Kirumi quickly responds. “Whilst you both were gone, things got a little tense. Saihara was examining a photo that Momota gave to him when Shirogane asked to look at it. Momota told Shirogane to back off and I must admit, I’ve never seen him look so defeated before.”

“Then Harukawa got her panties in a bunch and snatched the photo away,” Miu continues. “Then she showed everyone the picture. She kept going on about why it’s suspicious that Shirogane’s picture was in one of the files. Shirogane kept pointing out that the photo was ripped or some shit but since she started to act all shifty, we all decided that she was suspicious. I’m pretty sure that bitch was the first person to mention the mastermind.”

Kiyo nods. “She said something along the lines of not being the mastermind but she must’ve been, right? Saihara said that the mastermind was wearing a skirt when he saw them. Her reaction didn’t help either. It’s clear that she had something to hide.”

“But where do the exisals come into this?” Rantaro asks. “Did she summon them?”

Kirumi shakes her head bitterly. “She clearly wanted to create a distraction of some sort. I...regret to say that she ended up pushing Saihara out of the room. That’s what got the exisals to come.”

“And man were those bastards quick,” Miu comments. “He was only on the floor for a second before I heard them running!”

“Shirogane pushed Saihara out of the room?” Himiko warily glances at Tsumugi’s body. “S-She got him killed?”

“But if she pushed Saihara from the room then wouldn’t they have gone after Shinguji too?” Rantaro asks. “Monokuma said that both people would be punished if someone left the room without their partner.”

“That’s when things get strange,” Kirumi admits. “If I recall, it was the red one that got to Saihara first. He picked up Saihara using his claw and all we heard was a rather loud crack before Saihara simply went limp. I presume that the exisal had snapped his spine due to the way he fell forwards. There was no cry of pain or anything.”

“But that doesn’t make sense,” Himiko says. “We saw the green one carry Saihara away. I would know! The green exisal almost jumped on me!”

“There was a fight between the exisals,” Kiyo answers. “Only moments after the red exisal grabbed Saihara, the green one shot it down. Saihara fell to the floor and Harukawa and Momota went to check on him.”

“Did someone check his pulse?” Rantaro asks cautiously. A small part of him doesn’t want to know the answer. A big part of him doesn’t want to accept that Saihara is dead.

“Harukawa did,” Kirumi says. “Momota’s hands were shaking too much. He spent more time yelling at the exisals than helping in my honest opinion. We didn’t get Harukawa’s results as the pink exisal had lunged for the two. Harukawa decided to protect Momota and managed to get him out of the way before the pink exisal and the green exisal started to fight. They did struggle for a while and started to make quite the mess. We all had to evacuate the room since we all feared for our lives.”

“That’s when we all got split up,” Kiyo admits. 

“Shirogane fucking ran off too!” Miu huffs darkly. “That bitch! She could’ve gotten us all killed!”

“She must’ve ended up on the top floor,” Rantaro says as he eyes the broken window. “It’s clear that she was pushed from the window.”

“So all we need to do is find out who went upstairs, right?” Himiko asks. “Because that will narrow down our list of suspects!”

“Indeed,” Kirumi agrees with a nod. “It’s safe to say that both Amami and Yumeno can be crossed from the list as the two of them were no where near the academy during the time of the murder.”

“W-Wait a second!” Miu blanches. “Why the fuck are we investigating? The mastermind is dead, right? Monokuma hasn’t even come with his shitty Monokuma File.”

She has a point. It’s just them, Tsumugi’s body and a mess of broken glass. 

“He should be here by now, right?” Himiko asks. “Does that mean Shirogane really was the mastermind? Can I go home?”

Kirumi seems stuck as she peers around with a hand on her chin. She seems on edge. “I...don’t know how to answer that. It’s true that Monokuma should be here but he isn’t. Did something else happen?”

The group quietly look at each other. Distantly, Rantaro can hear Kaito still yelling from across the courtyard. He’s just a tiny speck of purple in the distance.

“Hey, where’s Harukawa and Ouma anyway?” Himiko asks. “Why aren’t they with the rest of you?”

Kiyo blinks. “I haven’t seen them for quite a while now.”

“Last I know where they were they were inside the computer room,” Miu admits. “Unless they pissed off to fuck or some shit.”

“I haven’t seen them either,” Kirumi realises. “I would’ve thought that Harukawa would’ve followed Momota to keep him safe but only Momota is outside, right? The two of them aren’t still together, are they?”

Himiko’s nose scrunches up. “But they hate each other. Why would they still be together?”

Rantaro crosses his arms with a frown. “Maybe we should look for them. They should still be inside of the academy, right?”

“Perhaps they’re both arguing?” Kiyo suggests. “It does sound like something they would do.”

“But why?” Kirumi asks the question that everyone is wondering. 

She opens the door for everyone. There’s a strange atmosphere in the air now that the potential mastermind has been killed and Monokuma is missing. Rantaro thinks that it’s gotten colder as the doors behind him close and he rubs his arms for warmth even though he really isn’t cold. Why does he feel this way?

“Perhaps we should split up,” Kirumi proposes. “That way we’ll cover more ground.”

“Indeed,” Kiyo says. “Tojo, perhaps you and I should examine the upper floors? We both were there when the exisals attacked so we may have a better idea on where to look. Amami, I trust that you’ll keep an eye on Yumeno and Iruma and check this floor? Maybe they both slipped downstairs without any of us noticing?”

“Of course,” Rantaro responds and ignores the bitter feeling gathering on his tongue. He swallows heavily and takes a deep breath. “Yeah, of course. We’ll find them.”

“Those fuckers will be sorry for wasting our time!” Miu cries. “We could be going home right now!”

“Then we should hurry before Monokuma really does come back,” Himiko says and starts to briskly walk towards the dining room. “Maybe they went to get a drink?”

“Perhaps one of them got hurt,” Rantaro points out. “There is a first aid kit inside the kitchen. They could’ve gone in there to patch themselves up.”

“But why would either of them been hurt?” Miu asks. “It was Saihara and Shinguji the exisals were after. Shitguji only got lucky that the green one decided to go all crazy and take out the other exisals before they could get to him!”

“Why would Monodam do that?” Rantaro ponders out loud. “It just doesn’t make any sense. What use does Saihara’s corpse have to him?”

“Maybe it was the monokubs who cleaned up the bodies,” Himiko suggests. “We’ve never seen them get moved before.”

“But to move him in front of all of us?” Miu haughtily replies. “Use your fucking brain! It doesn’t make any sense. Do you lack a brain as well as boobs?!”

Himiko makes an offended face as she angrily crosses her arms over her chest. “Take it back!”

“H-Hee!”

Rantaro hopes for the best as he opens the dining room doors. However, he’s met with a disappointing sight. The room doesn’t have anyone else inside. All that greets them are table and chairs. 

“Oi! Shitty gremlin! Stabby bitch! Where the fuck did you go!?” Miu calls out as she puts a hand on her hip. She expectantly waits for an answer.

“They’re probably not going to respond to that,” Himiko says disapprovingly. 

“Well you try and find them then!”

Rantaro defeatedly closes the door and thinks where about Maki and Kokichi could be. It’s true that they hate each other but that doesn’t factor into anything, right? From the sound of things, the exisals were destroyed before anyone else was hurt so they both should be fine, right? Maybe they’re both hiding. Yeah. That sounds about right. Maki is a cautious person and probably made Kokichi be quiet until they were safe to come out again. 

“Ouma! Harukawa!” Rantaro calls as he walks down the halls. “It’s safe to come out now! The exisals are all gone!”

“Yeah! We get to go home now!” Himiko adds. “We’re just waiting on you both, you know?”

“So get your asses out here!” Miu finishes. “This gorgeous girl genius has a life too!”

There’s still no response.

Rantaro shouts louder. 

He throws his hand out when he hears a creak. Himiko and Miu stop abruptly behind him as Rantarto waits. Seconds later, he sees Kokichi run down the hallway with his hands to his chest.

His white uniform is stained pink. 

“Ouma?!” Himiko squawks. 

Kokichi’s eyes widen before he pushes his way out of the academy. 

Rantaro goes to run after him but is stopped when a hand grabs his own. He looks down and sees Himiko shaking her head. 

“He was covered in blood!” Himiko says. “Amami, what if Harukawa is dead?”

“W-What?!” Miu’s voice echoes down the hallway. “What do you mean that Ouma was covered in blood? Why the fuck would he be bloody for?!”

“We need to find out!” Himiko insists. “Amami, I know you want to go after him but if Harukawa is hurt then we need to see if she’s okay! We can’t let anyone else die! We’re all so close to going home!”

She has a point. She really does. Rantaro huffs out a frustrated breath. “You’re right. Come on, we need to find Harukawa.”

He opens the metal door that leads them towards the gym. On the floor, Rantaro catches small droplets of fresh blood. Whose is it? They’re clearly only been made recently or even seconds ago. 

At the gym door, Rantaro hears something that makes him feel like the world is ending. 

“Oh! Fancy seeing you all here!”

“Monokuma!?” Himiko cries out in defeat. “Why are you here?”

“Oh you know, just sorting out a couple of things,” Monokuma says. “A couple of people.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?” Miu defensively asks. 

Monokuma flushes. “Did you all miss me? Aw, you were all looking for me, right? Don’t worry! I’ll be sorting out the Monokuma Files in just a second!”

“But the mastermind is dead,” Himiko slowly says. “Shirogane is dead. You can stop the game now.”

“Shirogane?” Monokuma quizzically puts a paw to his mouth. “Oh my! Now that really is interesting! You all thought that she was the mastermind?”

“But she has to be,” Rantaro argues. “Saihara and Momota had found evidence that-”

“Geez, you’re all gullible!” Monokuma says. “People who believe every little thing they see won’t survive long here! So what, you saw one little thing and decided that Shirogane was the mastermind? I think I’d know who my partner in crime is thank you very much.”

“But they’re a girl,” Himiko splutters. “And then there was that photo of Shirogane! It was in the last file! She’s clearly done something like this before!”

“Ehh?” Monokuma tilts his head to the side. “Is that so? How interesting! Too bad that you were all wrong! This killing game ends when I say so!”

Monokuma walks away with the air of someone who knows that they’ve won. Rantaro can’t help but seethe. He can’t help but mourn. If Tsumugi really wasn’t the mastermind then she was killed for no reason. Did the mastermind set this up? Did they want someone to kill Tsumugi?

Perhaps the motive was taking too long. Maybe Monokuma instructed the mastermind to hide that photo so that Tsumugi would end up dead. Maybe it was rotten luck that caused her death. Rantaro was in the same boat at the start of the game. His own curiosity almost got him killed. He was the lucky one. 

Himiko clears her throat. “W-We still need to check out the gym. Harukawa could be in there.”

“Then let’s go!” Miu impatiently demands. She looks stressed. Frazzled. Disappointed. 

She pushes open the doors to the gym with her elbow and struts inside. 

The inside of the gym smells heavily of blood. Rantaro tries not to gag as he finds something to keep the door open. 

Himiko runs towards the stage whilst Miu hovers near Rantaro nervously. 

“Why is Yumeno running?” Miu asks innocently. 

Rantaro opens his mouth to answer but all his words get stuck in his throat. He spots Himiko kneeling on the floor next to Maki. She’s alive and that’s what’s most important. However, Rantaro also knows that having a knife stuck inside of your stomach is also not healthy. So that’s why the gym smells of blood. 

Maki stumbles as she uses Himiko as a clutch to stand up and hisses. “I’m going to kill him!”

“Harukawa, what happened?” Himiko asks as she stops herself from tripping under Maki’s weight. “Who did this to you?”

Rantaro instantly dashes forward to help. He puts Maki’s arm around his shoulder and crouches down a little so that she’s comfortable. 

With her free hand, Maki keeps a steady grip on the knife. She hasn’t removed it yet. Maybe she knows that it’ll be fatal if she does. However, she does look like she’s in a great amount of pain. Her eyebrows pinch together. 

“That bastard,” Maki answers forcefully. She takes a step forwards. “He did this. It’s all his fault!”

“What the fuck is going on?” Miu calls from the door.

“Harukawa has been stabbed!” Himiko answers with a shaky voice. “Harukawa, we need to remove the knife!”

“Don’t you think I already know that?” Maki snaps. “There’s no supplies here that will help at all. This is something much bigger than what a medical supply box can offer.” She blows air from her nose heavily. “S-Shit…”

Rantaro panics. “But we can’t just let you die. T-There has to be something we can do!”

“There is,” Maki responds. “Help me get upstairs. I need to get to Saihara’s lab.”

“But why?” Himiko asks. “There’s nothing in there that will help you!”

“The fire,” Maki answers. “I’ll seal the wound up with something. Probably the knife.”

Miu looks appalled. “But that would fucking hurt! You’ll just end up burning yourself!”

“Don’t you think I’ve been trained to know what to do in these sorts of situations?” Maki replies. “I know what I’m doing. Just...help me get up there. I can’t walk on my own.”

“Harukawa, are you sure you don’t want to find someone to help you?” Rantaro suggests nervously. “Maybe we should find Tojo. She’ll probably know what to do-”

“Just help me get to Saihara’s lab!” Maki hisses as she starts to wobble. Her grip on the knife gets tighter. “The sooner I get this out of me, the better.”

Miu opens and closes her mouth as she wraps her hand around Rantaro’s arm, following everyone out of the room. “Y-You’re not going to die, right?”

Maki snorts. “Like Monokuma would let there be three deaths in one go.”

“What was Monokuma doing in the gym anyway?” Himiko asks. “Did...did Monokuma do this to you?”

“No,” Maki abruptly says and winces at her own forceful words. “It wasn’t Monokuma.”

“Then it was…” Himiko bites her lip. “Ouma did this to you?”

Maki nods silently, her grip on Rantaro getting stronger as she forces herself up the stairs. Her skin turns more pale as a light layer of sweat starts to form. “T-That bastard. The next time I see him I’ll kill him.”

“I-Isn’t that a little too extreme?” Miu responds quietly. “I know he’s a little shit but…”

“Someone has already killed Shirogane,” Maki says. “I won’t get punished if I kill him now.”

Rantaro swallows heavily. “Are you sure it was Ouma who did this to you?”

Maki’s eyes flash dangerously. “I think I’d know who stabbed me, Amami. It was definitely him.”

“He was covered in blood when we saw him too,” Himiko adds with wide eyes. “But why did he stab you, Harukawa?”

“How did he even manage to stab you anyway?” Miu cries. “You’re an assassin, for fucks sake! How the hell did he manage to sneak up on you of all people?”

“I don’t know!” Maki seems frustrated, letting out deep breaths as she reaches the top of the first set of stairs. She blows her fringe from her forehead, which is now sticky with sweat. “Can you just shut up for one second. I can’t concentrate with everyone talking!”

Himiko’s lips go thin as she reluctantly keeps quiet. She presses herself against Maki’s side as she helps her get up the next flight of steps. 

Rantaro feels himself get lightheaded due to too many thoughts running around his head. So much has happened at once. First, Shuichi is killed due to Tsumugi’s actions. Then Tsumugi is killed due to the suspicions of her being the mastermind. Now Maki is claiming that Kokichi has stabbed her. He eyes the knife that is still sticking out of her body. Her grip on it is tight and he notices how now all of her fingers are trembling. 

Maki looks like she’s moments away from passing out. 

“Maybe I should carry you to the lab,” Rantaro suggests.

“No,” Maki responds firmly. “W-We’re almost there anyway. Just get me there and I’ll be fine.”

They finally reach the top floor of the academy. Rantaro can feel Maki’s fingernails dig into his skin through his shirt as he slowly helps her reach the detective’s lab. Her breath is now extremely laboured and her eyes seem unfocused. He doesn’t trust her to remove the knife safely on her own. 

“Harukawa, perhaps I should help,” Rantaro says as Maki stumbles into the lab.

She knocks a desk clean with one swipe, bottles flying from the surface and falling onto the floor loudly. Rantaro winces and thinks about all of the glass outside of the academy. 

“If you want to help me,” Maki says as she leans heavily onto the desk. She still has one shaky hand on the knife. “Then just trust me.”

“You’re just going to pull it out?” Miu asks frantically. “Y-You’ll die!”

“I’ve done this plenty of times,” Maki responds. With a deep breath, she pulls away from the desk and forces herself to reach the fireplace. Her fingers drum against the knife as she stares into the flames. “This isn’t going to be a pretty sight…”

“Harukawa,” Rantaro murmurs. He makes her way over to her and puts a hand on her shoulder. He understands that she knows what she’s doing. He understands that she’ll probably be the only person who can save herself. He just doesn’t understand how the knife ended up inside of her in the first place. 

“I want you all out of here,” Maki quietly says. “Amami, can you find Momota? I need to know if he’s okay.”

“But what if you need help?”

“Amami, please.” Maki’s voice is desperate.

Rantaro is taken aback. He’s never heard her voice have so much raw emotion in it before. 

“O-Okay…”

“You’re just going to leave her?!” Himiko cries.

“There’s nothing any of us can do,” Rantaro reasons. “Harukawa knows what she’s doing.”

“I don’t want to be around when she seals up her wound,” Miu quickly says. “That shit will probably hurt!”

“But we can’t just leave her!” Himiko stresses. “W-What if we can all really go home? We can’t just leave her behind!”

Rantaro rubs his eyes, feeling suddenly exhausted. “How about you find Tojo then? She’s probably the best person to help Harukawa right now. She should be on the top floor somewhere with Shinguji. Tell them both what happened and then stay by one of them. I don’t think things are safe right now.”

“Right,” Himiko says as she swallows heavily. “Right. Okay! I’ll find Tojo and Shinguji!”

She dashes out of the room. Rantaro and Miu follow behind albeit much more slowly. He makes sure to keep the door open so that Kirumi can quickly head into the room to assist Maki.

“Do you really think that he did it?” Miu abruptly asks.

“Huh?”

“Ouma,” Miu continues. “Do you really think that he stabbed Harukawa?”

“I don’t want to believe that he did,” Rantaro admits. “I really don’t know what to believe. I’m friends with both of them and I don’t want to believe that Ouma really did hurt Harukawa. However, I also don’t want to call Harukawa a liar.”

“It just seems fishy,” Miu admits. “How the fuck could someone like Ouma manage to stab Harukawa? She’s an assassin, for fucks sake!”

“There was no one else in the room who could have stabbed her,” Rantaro says. “Unless Monokuma did.”

“She has a knife inside of her and not in a good way,” Miu dryly says. “Monokuma would’ve just used his claws, right?”

Rantaro runs a hand through his hair. It’s getting long. “I really don’t know, Iruma.”

Miu goes quiet for a moment before she speaks up again. “Space dick won’t be happy if both Saihara and Harukawa die in one go.”

He knows. Shit. How does he even tell Kaito that Maki has been stabbed? He’ll want to know who did it and if Kaito finds out it was Kokichi then…

“Where did Ouma go anyway?” Miu asks. “It’s like he’s vanished into thin air! That’s totally fucking suspicious.”

“He was covered in blood,” Rantaro says. “He’s probably gone to clean himself up.”

“Hiding evidence, huh?” Miu cackles before stopping. “Wait, did you say he was the one covered in blood?”

“Yeah, why?”

“Well, isn’t that strange?” Miu says absentmindedly. They’ve reached the bottom floor. Rantaro spots more droplets of blood on the floor just outside of the doors that lead to the outside of the academy. “Why would he be the one whose covered in blood?”

Rantaro’s grip on the door handle suddenly loosens. 

“I don’t know,” Miu continues. “You’d think that he was the one who’d been stabbed if he was the one covered in blood.”

Silently, Rantaro opens the door. There’s still glass everywhere and Rantaro can see that Tsumugi’s body hasn’t been moved yet. However…

Kokichi doesn’t say anything as he backs away from Tsumugi’s body. He’s holding a tablet to his chest. On top of that, he hasn’t changed out of his bloody clothes. Rantaro quickly eyes the smaller male. Now that he’s able to get a closer look at him, maybe he can figure out what really is going on. 

The blood on Kokichi’s clothes seems more smudged than anything, like Kokichi has been wiping bloody hands on his uniform. But why? To clean blood from his hands? However, when Rantaro looks at Kokichi’s hands he can see that they’re still clearly stained with blood. Rantaro watches as a droplet of blood suddenly drips from Kokichi’s hand. Is he bleeding?

Kokichi blinks as he holds the tablet to his chest, looking like a deer caught in the headlights. His eyes roam over to Miu and Kokichi puts a finger to his lips. Clearly, he wants Rantaro to keep quiet about his appearance. 

“What’s taking so long?!” Miu cries. “Aren’t we supposed to be looking for Momota?”

Rantaro quickly responds. “Ah, I’m just trying to find the safest path for us. It’s just that there’s so much glass everywhere!”

Kokichi shoots him a look that’s entirely unreadable before quickly scurrying towards the dormitories, holding the tablet close to his chest as he goes. It’s clear that he doesn’t want anyone to know that he’s been here.

Rantaro holds out his hand for Miu, who takes it. He guides her around the glass and escorts her down the set of stone steps that takes the two down to the bottom area. Rantaro spots Kaito just past Miu’s lab, wildly knocking on a large metal door. 

“I know that you’re in there! I watched you go in!” Kaito yells as he whacks the door with his fist. Clearly, that was a bad idea as Kaito starts to howl and rubs the now red fist with his hand. 

Rantaro’s stomach drops as he heads towards Kaito. Why does he have to be the one who delivers the bad news?

“Uh, Kaito?”

Kaito spins around and his eyes start to shine when he spots Rantaro. “Rantaro, perfect! Help me get inside! That asshole has Shuichi and I’m going to get him back! I can’t let my sidekick down!”

“He’s fucking dead,” Miu bluntly says. “Why do you want his corpse anyway?”

“We don’t know if he’s dead!” Kaito insists as his voice gets harsher. “If he’s still alive and I just leave him then I’ll be the one who let him down! It’s my job as a hero to save him!”

“Momota,” Rantaro says softly. “The body discovery went off when Yumeno and I saw him. He has to be-”

“Shut up!” Kaito yells. “I didn’t hear a body discover go off for him!”

“Well then you must be delusional because-” Miu is cut off.

Kaito slams his fists together as he glares at the door. If he gets any angrier then steam might start to pour out from his ears. “I heard the body discovery for Shirogane but I never heard one for Shuichi! Sure, there was one before that but it never finished, did it?”

“It still started!” Miu groans. 

“But it never finished!” Kaito insists. “Monokuma would’ve let it finish if Shuichi was actually dead! Instead, he let the second one play. Doesn’t that have to mean something?!”

Rantaro opens and closes his mouth.

Kaito looks triumphant. “Exactly! Now, help me open this door so I can save my sidekick!”

“Quit wasting your time!” Miu sighs loudly. “You’ll probably want to try help your fucking girlfriend instead. She’s been stabbed.”

“E-Eh?” Kaito’s eyes widen. “Whose been stabbed?”

“Harukawa,” Rantaro says softly. “Yumeno, Iruma and I found her in the gym. She’s...been attacked. We took her up to Saihara’s lab so she could seal up the wound using the fire.”

“W-Why didn’t someone get me sooner?!” Kaito panics. “Is she gonna die?!”

“Probably not,” Miu responds nonchalantly. “She’s an assassin. She’s probably had worse things stuck inside of her.”

Kaito slams his hand against the door. “Damn it, Iruma! This isn’t the time to be screwing around!”

“Harukawa wants to know if you’re okay,” Rantaro tells him. “She seems more worried about you than anyone at the moment.”

“That idiot,” Kaito grumbles under his breath. “Shit, I need to go and see if she’s okay.”

However, the astronaut hesitates and stares at the metal door that firmly stays shut. It’s clear that he’s torn.

“He could still be alive,” Kaito says weakly. “And if he dies because I left him then it’ll be all my fault.”

“If it’s anyone’s fault it’s Shirogane’s!” Miu insists. “That bitch clearly had something to hide!”

“She’s also dead,” Rantaro says. “We’ve also seen Monokuma. He told us he’s going to get the Monokuma File ready.”

“Huh?” Kaito blinks. “But I thought that Shirogane was the mastermind! I found her photo in the last file.”

“Monokuma is still preparing a Monokuma File,” Rantaro responds helplessly. 

Kaito’s face drops. “But I was the one who found that photo. I-I thought that it was suspicious that it was in the file! Don’t tell me it’s my fault that she’s dead!”

“Unless you’re the one who pushed her from the top floor then you have nothing to do with her death, dipshit!” Miu rolls her eyes from under her goggles. 

“Of course I didn’t push her!” Kaito retorts. “I was too busy chasing the exisal! I wanted to reach my sidekick before...I couldn’t.”

**Obtained truth bullet! “Kaito’s Testimony”**

Rantaro puts his hand on Kaito’s shoulder. “Kaito, I know this isn’t what you want to hear but Saihara is dead. I know you want to find him but right now your other sidekick needs your help. I know Harukawa can look after herself but right now she’s really hurt and I think it would mean a lot to her right now if you saw her.”

“I know,” Kaito quietly says. Rantaro almost misses him saying it. “But…”

“I finally found you all! You’re all terrible students making me run around after you all!”

Monokuma frantically waddles towards the group. His face is red as if he’s been searching the entire academy for everyone and has failed for a rather long time. 

“What do you want?” Kaito says with a frown. “Hey, while you’re here, can you open the door? I need to save my sidekick!”

“Save him?” Monokuma puts a paw to his mouth. “You can’t save someone who is already dead!”

“Huh?” All the colour drains from Kaito’s face. “You’re lying, right?”

“Nope!” Monokuma insists. “Shuichi Saihara is most definitely dead! I even updated the Monokuma File to prove it!”

Rantaro’s monopad makes a sound and he pulls it from his pocket. When he finds the Monokuma File, he finds that there’s not one file inside but two. One for Shuichi and one for Tsumugi. He stares at their portraits with a look of deep sadness. 

Kaito presses his face against Rantaro’s cheek as he also looks down at the Monokuma File. He trains his expression to stay neutral but Rantaro can feel Kaito tremble against him and hear the quick breaths that Kaito is trying to hide. 

“You’re lying!” Kaito insists. “He can’t be gone! He’s my sidekick!”

“Correction, he _was_ your sidekick!” Monokuma gleefully points out. “But don’t worry, you still have one left! Or maybe not! That stab wound looked pretty nasty!”

Rantaro drops his monopad on the floor as Kaito lunges for the bear. He has to hook his arms under Kaito’s to stop him from making a mistake. 

Monokuma laughs loudly as Kaito’s foot is inches away from his face.

“My, my! Someone has quite the temper!” Monokuma smugly says. He eyes the dropped tablet on the floor. “You better hope that you didn’t cause Amami to break his tablet! You wouldn’t want to be held responsible for his death too!”

“What do you mean by that?” Miu argues. “Momota didn’t kill anyone, did he?”

“Maybe if he never found that photo then more people would still be alive right now,” Monokuma trails off. He waves at the group before leaving. “Make sure you all make it to the trial on time! I have a feeling that this is going to be a good one!”

“You asshole!” Kaito shouts after him.

“Hey! You need to calm down!” Rantaro insists, hesitantly letting Kaito go.

He reaches down and picks up his tablet. Apart from the crack across his screen, the tablet still seems to be functional. Rantaro tucks it away into his pocket. 

“That piece of shit!” Kaito continues to fume, pacing back and forth outside of the metal door. “He’s lying! He has to be lying!”

Rantaro shakes his head. “Saihara has a Monokuma File. Kaito, I know this isn’t what you want to hear but he’s-”

“Don’t say it!” Kaito abruptly yells. His stiff posture suddenly softens. “Please, just...don’t say it.”

Miu uncomfortably clears her throat. “We need to start investigating, right? That shitty bear is going to make us have a class trial soon and I doubt he’s going to give us much time to investigate.”

“That’s right,” Rantaro says. His hand hovers over Kaito’s shoulder once more. “Kaito, we need to go.”

“But-”

“I promise we can try and get him once we finish the trial,” Rantaro promises. “The sooner we finish the trial then the sooner we can head back here and get him out.”

Kaito crosses his arms and lets out a long sigh. “Right...sounds like a plan.”

“You don’t seem too happy about it,” Miu says. 

“I just don’t want to waste any time,” Kaito admits. Something in him suddenly sets aflame however and he shakes his head. “That’s why we need to get this investigation over and done with as soon as possible! I can only help my sidekick if I finish this class trial as soon as possible for him! Shuichi can hold on just a little longer! I know he can!”

Kaito dashes off towards the academy, his starry jacket flying out behind him like a hero’s cape. 

“He does know that Saihara is dead, right?” Miu asks with a raised eyebrow.

“He’s just in denial right now,” Rantaro says, feeling conflicted. On one hand he should be happy that Kaito wants to now participate in the investigation. On the other hand, he knows it’s going to break Kaito when he realises that Shuichi is dead. If Kaito walks into the class trial believing that Shuichi is still alive, he’s going to waste a lot of time arguing with others about him being dead or not. 

Miu crosses her arms. “Well he better fucking snap out of it. I’m not going to risk my life if he tries to get us to vote for the wrong person just because he thinks that Saihara is alive.”

Rantaro decides to pull out the Monokuma Files and look over them one more time to see what information he can find. 

_Victim: Tsumugi Shirogane_  
_“The victim died at 16:38.”_  
_“The victim was found outside of the academy.”_  
_“Cause of death is being a useless student.”_  
_“The victim failed at being a good student so they got what was coming to them.”_  
_“Victim unfortunately died instantaneously.”_

“Woah.” Rantaro raises an eyebrow at the tablet. “Monokuma really isn’t happy with Shirogane.”

“Huh? What’s that supposed to mean?”

“The Monokuma file is really sarcastic,” Rantaro explains. “What did Shirogane do to upset Monokuma so much?”

“Who the fuck knows? She’s dead now,” Miu says. “So, what does Saihara’s file look like?”

_Victim: Shuichi Saihara_  
_“The time of death is unknown.”_  
_“The victim was fou-”_  
_“Cause of death i-”_  
_“There are also signs of additional injury on the leg. There is a high chance that the first attack caused his leg to be broken. Additionally, the student received a bruise on their head.”_  
_“The victim … … … instantaneously.”_

“The file keeps glitching,” Rantaro admits. “The words keep moving around and a lot of words are missing.”

“And how is this fair on us?!” Miu cries. “We can’t win the class trial if we don’t know shit!”

She does have a point. However, Rantaro doubts that Monokuma is going to do anything about it. There’s probably a chance that Monokuma messed up the files on purpose. 

“Let’s just do some investigating,” Rantaro suggests. 

“All we need to do is figure out who went upstairs,” Miu easily responds. “We can catch the culprit that way!”

“Well, did you go upstairs?”

Miu’s face goes red. “So what if I did? Obviously I didn’t fucking push her you dipshit! I can’t see anything so how the hell would I have been able to push her out of the window?!”

**Obtained truth bullet! “Miu’s testimony”**

“Okay, okay!” Rantaro says as he takes a couple of steps back. “But, Iruma? How did you end up upstairs anyway? Wouldn’t it have made more sense to go downstairs? I thought you would’ve wanted to go downstairs to escape the exisals.”

“Well duh!” Miu snaps. “It’s just…” Miu rubs her wrist. “Someone grabbed me. I told them to fucking let go of me but they dragged me up the stairs! They didn’t say shit so I don’t know who actually grabbed me but they ended up letting me go after a while.”

“Wow, that must’ve sucked.”

“It did!” Miu shudders. “And, um, after the person let me go I tripped b-because I wanted to head back downstairs. I fell into something and heard this loud fucking sound.”

“What sort of sound?”

“I don’t know!” Miu huffs. “I guess I just fucking fell over and then that little shit helped me up, I guess.”

“Huh?”

Miu curls a strand of her hair around her finger and idly plays with it. “I think it was Ouma who helped me up? That’s what my, uh, inner voice was telling me anyway.”

“Inner voice?” Rantaro stops walking and watches as Miu continues to head back towards the academy, oblivious that she’s walking on her own. 

The whole reason Rantaro and Himiko went down the Miu’s lab was because her earpiece ran out of batteries, right?

**Obtained truth bullet! “Miu’s earpiece”**

Miu finally figures out that she’s on her own when she trips on a step. Her face turns red as she instantly stands back up and presses her skirt back down against her thighs.

“You pervert! You wanted me to trip, didn’t you?!”

“T-That’s wrong!”

“Hmph!”

Rantaro reluctantly takes Miu back over to Tsumugi’s body and instructs Miu to stay still as he looks over the body. 

Glass crunches under his shoes and he hopes he doesn’t cut his feet as he crouches down next to the body, making sure not to hurt himself on the glass. Unfortunately for Tsumugi she’s lying down heavily on the floor and Rantaro can spot several shards of glass pressing into her body. 

He looks down at her face. Her glassy blue eyes are still wide open. They look so much more clear now that her glasses aren’t on her face. Rantaro spots the glasses a couple of feet away. They clearly flew off her head when she had landed on the floor. 

Her body juts out at strange angles. One of her legs are twisted and Rantaro thinks he can see some bone too. Her neck also seems to be at an angle too, although it’s rather hard to tell. However, as Rantaro gets a closer look he can see that her neck is bent in a way that it shouldn’t. 

Rantaro grimaces as he checks her pockets for anything. If she really was the mastermind then she must be carrying something to suggest that she was, right? If you want to keep something safe then it’s probably best to keep it on yourself at all times. However, as Rantaro checks through Tsumugi’s pockets he realises that all of them are empty. She hadn’t been carrying anything on her at all. Or had she?

“Did you find anything?” Miu asks as Rantaro takes inside of the academy. 

“No,” Rantaro admits. “All of her pockets were empty and there were no other injuries that looked out of place.”

Miu frowns. “I know everyone really had a go at her about being the mastermind but I never thought someone would kill her over it! I mean, Harukawa tried to kill Akamatsu and shit but she wouldn’t be stupid enough to try and pull that shit again, right?”

“Right,” Rantaro agrees hopefully. 

“But…” Miu’s voice is full of guilt. “Almost no one tried to defend her either when we decided that she was the mastermind. Everyone was so certain that she had to be the mastermind.”

“Who tried to defend her?”

“Saihara,” Miu answers. “He said that there was not enough evidence to say that she really was the mastermind. Sure there was some evidence to say otherwise but...I guess there really wasn’t enough evidence to say that she was the fucking mastermind. Of course a detective would’ve noticed this but the rest of us didn’t.”

“He was the only one who tried to defend her yet she decided to push him of all people out of the room?”

“I guess so,” Miu says. “Obviously I didn’t see shit but yeah. She took out the one person who tried to be on her side.”

Rantaro is silent as he heads upstairs. There’s a small part of him that’s currently screaming at Tsumugi, raging that she killed someone who tried to help her. Another part of him feels sorry for the cosplayer because in the end, she was backed up into a corner with no escape. She had been telling the truth about not being the mastermind yet she was still killed.

Then Rantaro thinks more. 

“Maybe she wasn’t killed because everyone thought she was the mastermind,” Rantaro suggests.

“Huh?!”

“Maybe someone wanted revenge for Saihara,” Rantaro says. 

Miu opens and closes her mouth. “I-I guess? Fuck, I mean Saihara had to have died first, right? Whoever went after Shirogane probably knew this and went after her to get revenge!”

Shuichi was well liked. It’s clear that everyone liked him because he was one of the more tamer students. He was pleasant and didn’t do much to annoy everyone. Sure, he was on the quiet side and was a little indecisive but he never would’ve hurt anyone. However, who would’ve killed for him?

Kaito really liked him. Kaito’s also really sick. Perhaps Kaito killed Tsumugi for revenge? Perhaps he doesn’t have as long as he wants and decided to kill Tsumugi as one last heroic act?

No, that wouldn’t make sense. Kaito had chased after the exisal that had taken Shuichi. He wouldn’t have had time to go upstairs, kill Tsumugi and then head back downstairs to chase the exisal. The chances of Kaito killing Tsumugi are low.

Then who else would’ve killed Tsumugi for revenge?

Maki? No. She wasn’t that close to Shuichi despite them both being Kaito’s sidekicks. 

Kokichi? No. Rantaro doubts that Kokichi would actually want to kill someone. Although, Miu claims that he was upstairs.

Kirumi? No. Rantaro firmly believes that she wouldn’t do something like that.

Kiyo? No. Whilst him and Shuichi had been partners, Rantaro thinks there’s no reason for Kiyo to kill Tsumugi. In fact, Rantaro thinks that Kiyo actually liked Tsumugi.

Miu? No. She just said she had no way of killing Tsumugi.

Maybe Rantaro’s theory is wrong. Besides, he wasn’t there during the attack. He has no way of knowing what happened. 

He first wants to check out the computer room for any clues. Inside, he finds Himiko and Kiyo. They’re both picking up chairs from the floor. Rantaro takes in the state of the room. 

“You look surprised,” Kiyo says. “Which isn’t that much of a surprise. The room is quite a mess, yes?”

“What happened anyway?” Himiko asks as she struggles to pick up a chair from the floor. 

Kiyo sighs. “The room fell into chaos when the exisals arrived, you see. Whilst they didn’t enter the room, we all feared they would. A lot of us backed away from the door and in the process, knocked over all of the chairs.”

“It must’ve been a scary experience,” Himiko says with a shudder. She has a smudge of blood on the side of her hand from where she had helped Maki. She probably doesn’t know that it’s there.

“Yes, I did find it rather daunting,” Kiyo admits. “I feel like at any moment Monokuma is going to kill me since I should’ve also been punished. I wonder why he hasn’t found me yet?”

“He probably doesn’t want too many people dying at once, duh!” Miu answers. “You’re lucky someone decided to kill Shitogane when they did, otherwise Monokuma probably would’ve went after you too!”

“You think?” Kiyo says calmly. “Then I suppose I should feel slightly grateful that a small mercy came from such a tragic event.”

Himiko decides to pipe up. “I found Shinguji and Tojo! Tojo went upstairs to help Harukawa and I’m pretty sure I heard Momota run upstairs too. Now we just need to find Ouma.”

“Yumeno told me he was the one who stabbed Harukawa,” Kiyo says as he pulls a face. “I can’t think of a reason why he would do that. In any case, I think I’ll be avoiding him from now on. He clearly isn’t safe to be around.”

“That’s right,” Himiko agrees with a nod. “Amami, you should stay away from him too. I don’t want him to hurt you.”

Rantaro shakes his head. “Don’t worry, I don’t think he’ll hurt me.”

“Yes, but he did manage to stab the Ultimate Assassin,” Kiyo points out. “The only other person here who managed to land a hit on Harukawa was Chabashira and that was probably due to her talent. Ouma must’ve wanted her to be dead for him to successfully stab her.”

“D-Do you really think he’s that dangerous?” Miu nervously says. “What if he decides to go after me next?”

“If we’re lucky then maybe he’ll be the one who ends up being the blackened,” Kiyo says without any regret. 

Rantaro bristles. He doesn’t feel comfortable anymore. He decides to change the topic. “Shinguji, where were you during Shirogane’s murder?”

Kiyo sighs. “I can’t lie. I decided to hide upstairs when the exisals attacked.”

“Why?”

“I figured they would’ve thought I would’ve gone downstairs to hide from them. I decided to hide upstairs inside Shirogane’s lab. She has a lot of different sets, you see. I hid behind one of them. However, it must’ve been only a minute before I heard a crash. I presume that’s when Shirogane had been pushed.”

**Obtained truth bullet! “Kiyo’s testimony”**

Himiko pouts. “We’re still no closer to finding the culprit.”

“Well, we don’t have to worry too much,” Kiyo responds. “Monokuma said during the last trial that it’s first come, first served. Shirogane was the one who caused Saihara’s death so we all must vote for her. I have no doubts that the class trial won’t last longer than a minute.”

“Really?” Miu’s eyes widen. “Well, if that’s the case then…”

Rantaro ignores the group in favour of checking out the files on the floor, presumably left behind by Shuichi. Sadly, he kneels down and starts to go through them. They all have different murder plots in them as well as...class trials? Strange. He skips to the last one as that was the one that Shuichi was most interested in. However, as he reads through the file, he doesn’t find anything that stands out. The only strange thing about the file is that all the names have been blurred out whilst the other files had the names kept as normal. 

Strange. 

He then spots a photograph by the files and picks it up. 

It’s the picture of Tsumugi that Kaito had found. Well, it’s Tsumugi but not a Tsumugi anyone in this room recognises. This Tsumugi has hair that has been tied into pigtails and a fringe that has been swept to the side. Her outfit is different and she lacks the glasses that she had worn during her time here at the academy. Rantaro wouldn’t have recognised the Tsumugi in the photo if it hadn’t been the signature written on it.

In curly letters and written in a black marker is a signature in the corner. Tsumugi Shirogane, Ultimate Screenwriter.

Rantaro thinks it’s strange how the talents don’t match. Tsumugi had introduced herself as the Ultimate Cosplayer. One of the two talents have to be a lie. 

He’s about to put the photo down when he notices something that he hadn’t the first time he had seen the picture. He pulls the photo closer to his face, hoping that his eyes weren't deceiving him. 

On Tsumugi’s shoulder is a hand. 

She hadn’t been alone when this picture had been taken. 

Rantaro runs his finger against the edge of the torn photo. The torn edge is soft so it doesn’t hurt his finger. 

Kaito was the one who found this photo, right? Had it really been torn when he had found it? But why would Kaito hide the other piece but let everyone else find this piece?

**Obtained truth bullet! “Torn photograph”**

He puts the photograph into his pocket for safekeeping. Maybe it’ll be useful later. 

“I’m going to go and check on Harukawa,” Rantaro says as he stands up. “I want to make sure that she’s okay.”

“We’ll finish up in here,” Kiyo tells him. “We’ll see you in a couple of minutes.”

Rantaro smiles tightly before he leaves the room as quickly as possible. The moment he closes the door he dashes the steps that will take him downstairs. He doesn’t have time to talk to Maki right now. He really does hope that she’ll be okay but there’s one person in particular he really wants to talk to right now. 

He makes his way over to the dormitories and without knocking, bursts into Kokichi’s bedroom. He must’ve startled the smaller male as Kokichi drops whatever he was holding onto the floor. 

“What are you doing in here?” Kokichi asks, raising a curious eyebrow. “You do know that knocking exists, right?”

Rantaro ignores him. “Ouma, I need you to tell me the truth.”

“Eh?”

“Did you stab Harukawa or not?”

“Oh! About that…” Kokichi sighs loudly, as if he’s already bored of their conversation. “Yeah, it was me. I stabbed Harukawa.”

Something about Kokichi’s tone of voice makes Rantaro feel frustrated. “Ouma, this isn’t funny. You’re on everyone’s bad side right now and I can’t defend you if I don’t know the truth.”

“You want to defend me?” Kokichi starts to laugh. “I wouldn’t waste my time if I were you, Ran-chan.”

“But something doesn’t add up,” Rantaro says. “No offence but how would you of all people manage to stab Harukawa? She’s the Ultimate Assassin. There’s no way you would’ve been able to stab her so easily.”

“You’re right about that one!” Kokichi admits. He bends down and picks up what he had dropped. It’s a tablet. “It certainly wasn’t easy! But I guess when you’re running on pure adrenaline then anything is possible!”

“Ouma, what are you on about?”

Kokichi rests his hands behind his head, failing to hide a wince as he does so. “So I maybe or maybe have not upset Harukawa and she may or may not have tried to kill me.”

“Ouma, I need the truth-”

“And I am telling you the truth!” Kokichi rolls his eyes. “It was me or her! I snatched the knife from her hands and stabbed her when I saw the opportunity to do so!”

Rantaro runs a hand down his face. “Ouma, you could’ve killed her!”

“She was trying to kill me!” Kokichi snaps. “What was I supposed to do? Let her?”

Kokichi drops his hands and wraps his arms around himself. He seems frazzled, like he’s one moment away from snapping. His hair is a mess, suggesting that he’s been running his hands through it. He hasn’t changed out of his bloody uniform yet either.

Rantaro takes a step forward to look at the uniform. “How did you get blood on your uniform anyway?”

“Eh, what are you on about now? Clearly my uniform has blood on it because I stabbed Harukawa!”

“No, that doesn’t make sense,” Rantaro says. “Harukawa was holding the knife inside of her. The knife never left her body. There’s no reason for your hands to be bloody.”

Kokichi blinks. Then, he blinks again. “Huh?”

“I took Harukawa upstairs so she could seal her wound,” Rantaro explains. “She’s insisting that it was you who stabbed her but something isn’t adding up. If you really did stab her then you shouldn’t be covered in blood.”

Kokichi looks down at his clothes and his eyes widen. He’s acting like he hasn’t even noticed the blood until now. “Wow! Where did all of this come from?”

“Ouma!”

Rantaro grabs Kokichi’s shoulder, ready to try and talk some sense into him when he notices Kokichi’s hair. Whilst it’s a dark purple, up close Rantaro can see that some strands of his hair are an even darker shade of purple, suggesting that the hair is wet. When Rantaro runs a finger and thumb through a strand, he finds that his fingers are pink when he pulls them away. 

“Blood?”

“Wow, would you look at that!” Kokichi pulls away and starts to hop up and down excitedly. “Now I wonder where that came from!”

“You should know,” Rantaro sighs. 

“But I clearly don’t,” Kokichi smugly says.

Rantaro really wants to start yelling but forces himself to keep his composure. Instead, he takes a deep breath. Then, he notices something.

“Ouma, why are your hands wrapped up?”

“Hmm?”

Rantaro snatches one of Kokichi’s hands before he can pull them away. It’s like he said, both of Kokichi’s hands are wrapped up in bandages. They’ve been wrapped up rather sloppily as the bandage isn’t firm in some areas. Rantaro also spots some blood leaking through the bandages.

“Ouma, you’re hurt,” Rantaro murmurs as he carefully turns Kokichi’s hand around so that it’s facing palm up. “What happened?”

“I cut myself on the glass!” Kokichi answers easily. “When I was taking Shirogane’s monopad!”

Kokichi passes Rantaro a tablet and gestures for him to turn it on. 

The monopad looks like a normal one and doesn’t look too suspicious at first glance. However, when Rantaro checks the map, he finds that the map includes the passageway to the secret room. 

“Maybe if Saihara had found this then he would’ve had enough evidence to say that Shirogane was really the mastermind,” Kokichi says. “Or should I say used to be the mastermind.”

“Used to be?”

“Don’t you think that Shirogane had been acting awful shifty lately?” Kokichi says. “She had clearly been nervous about something. Maybe Monokuma told her that she was no longer the mastermind because she’s been doing such an awful job? So, in order to keep her quiet, Monokuma decided to kill her off!”

“So whoever killed Shirogane is the mastermind?”

Kokichi’s eyes twinkle. “Who knows?”

“Then why did Shirogane kill Saihara?” Rantaro asks out loud. “It doesn’t make sense! Wouldn’t she want him to figure out who the new mastermind is so she could expose them?”

“That would mean exposing herself,” Kokichi says. “She’s caused so many people to die so far. Gonta, Hoshi, Akamatsu, Angie, Chabashira and now my beloved Saihara! Even if she did decide to help us in the end, would any of us really forgive her for all the deaths she’s caused so far?”

“Ouma, you forgot Kiibo.”

Kokichi’s eyes twinkle brighter. “And? Anyway, the answer is no. She knew we’d all turn hostile against her. She’d become the next target. The moment Monokuma betrayed her was the moment she knew she was going to die. Maybe she knew she was going to die and didn’t mind? She had no problem with helping Monokuma with the killing game so far. Maybe Monokuma asked her to kill Saihara to get him out of the way so he wouldn’t figure out who the new mastermind is?”

“The new mastermind?”

“Duh, of course there would be a new mastermind!” Kokichi says as he rolls his eyes. “Someone has to keep an eye on us.”

Rantaro feels sick at the thought. Not one but two people have betrayed the group?

“Anyway, you didn’t come here to talk about the mastermind, right? You came here for my alibi!”

“Well, yes but also-”

“I was upstairs!” Kokichi continues. “Harukawa dragged me upstairs since she didn’t know if it was safe to split up or not.”

“So both you are Harukawa were upstairs? But Harukawa was stabbed in the gym.”

“We went downstairs later,” Kokichi says with a sigh. “Anyway, I have no idea who pushed Shirogane. I wasn’t looking.”

“Why not?”

“Iruma had fallen over and dropped her earpiece,” Kokichi says. “I was helping her pick it up.”

Rantaro’s eyes narrow. “You’re being awfully vague.”

“Maybe I am, maybe I’m not,” Kokichi says with a grin.

**Obtained truth bullet! “Kokichi’s testimony”**

**Obtained truth bullet! "Kokichi's injuries"**

“Are you sure you didn’t see who pushed Shirogane?”

Kokichi shrugs. “Hmm, maybe try asking me again later.”

“Ouma! This is serious!”

Kokichi smiles and shrugs once more. “Anyway, can you go now? I want to get out of this uniform. The smell of blood is making me feel sick.”

“Wait a second! You never said if you stabbed Harukawa or not!”

“Huh? I’m pretty sure I did!” Kokichi says. “Amami, whether you like it or not, I did stab Harukawa.”

“Everyone is going to hate you for this, you know?”

“Everyone already hates me,” Kokichi says knowingly. “So in the end, does it really matter?”

Kokichi ends up pushing Rantaro out of his room with his shoulder. Rantaro can hear him lock his bedroom door behind him. He sighs loudly and wonders where he should go next. 

He jumps when the door to the dormitories open and Kirumi heads inside. She nods her head towards Rantaro, indicating that she has spotted him.

“How are you doing, Amami?” Kirumi asks. She takes off her gloves, revealing her hands. They are a light shade of pink and look rather hot and sweaty. No doubt Kirumi has been busy helping Maki out with her stab wound. 

“I’m...frustrated,” Rantaro admits. “I just don’t know what’s going on anymore.”

Kirumi offers him a soft smile. “It seems we are both in the same boat then. I’m afraid I can offer little comfort right now. Indeed, I’m no longer sure what is going on anymore myself. I truly thought that Shirogane was the mastermind yet we’re still having a class trial. I thought it must be for Saihara but then that would be a waste of time since so many people saw who killed him.”

“Shirogane also got her own Monokuma File,” Rantaro says. “It’s clear that Monokuma is keeping this killing game running.”

Kirumi clears her throat. “It really is a shame. I was excited to go home. I suppose it was my own fault for getting my hopes up. As cruel as this sounds, I was rather hoping Shirogane was the mastermind. I didn’t kill her and I’m surprised someone did but a small part of me hoped that all of this would be over now.”

Rantaro nods. “I see where you’re coming from. I guess all we can do now is find out who Shirogane’s killer is.”

“Well, I thought Saihara died first,” Kirumi says with a blink. “Even though Shirogane got her own file, it was Saihara who died first, yes? I’m going to presume that we all must vote for Shirogane.”

“That just sounds too easy,” Rantaro says quietly. “Something tells me Monokuma is going to make this trial harder than it should be.”

Kirumi fumbles with her gloves. “You’re...probably correct. In that case, perhaps I should tell you where I went during the exisal attack. I hid downstairs, you see. I followed Momota as he was chasing one of the exisals. The exisal went outside and when Momota and I went outside to follow, there was a loud crash. I hid behind the door whilst Momota continued to chase the exisal. I, um, saw Shirogane land on the floor outside.”

Rantaro’s face twists into a sympathetic expression as Kirumi’s smile drops.

“It wasn’t a pretty sight,” Kirumi admits. “In fact it was a horrific thing to witness. I heard her bones...Ah, nevermind.”

“I’m sorry you had to see that,” Rantaro truthfully says.

“Me too,” Kirumi says. 

**Obtained truth bullet! “Kirumi’s testimony”**

Kirumi clears her throat. “Anyway, I’ve come here to have a word with Ouma. Harukawa told me that he was the one who stabbed her. If that is the truth then I would like to know why he did.”

“He told me it was self defence,” Rantaro says.

“Oh, you already spoke to him?” 

“I tried to. He was in one of his funny moods. I honestly couldn’t tell when he was telling the truth or when he was lying.”

“He’s good at lying,” Kirumi admits. “It does make me wonder if he’s lying about the self defence. He’s never liked Harukawa from day one. It wouldn’t surprise me if he tried to get rid of her, especially since he knows he would’ve gotten away with it.”

“Do you not trust Ouma?”

“Quite frankly, no. He’s been nothing but trouble ever since he arrived here. He seems like he’s enjoying everything too. What sort of person would want to be trapped in a place like this?” Kirumi asks. “It’s...disturbing.”

Rantaro hates that she has a point. 

“I must go and clean myself up before the trial,” Kirumi says. “Harukawa requested that you go upstairs and see her. She says she has something important to tell you.”

So, Rantaro obliges. What else can he do?

When he pushed open the door to Saihara’s lab he quickly spots Maki lying down on an empty desk. Kaito is hovering over her, both of his fists clenched.

“I’ll gonna make that piece of shit pay for this!” Kaito fumes as he paces up and down next to the desk. “He’s gone too far this time!”

“It’s fine, Momota,” Maki says softly. She sounds exhausted.

“It’s not fine!” Kaito yells in response, throwing his hands up. “You could’ve died!”

“I’m fine,” Maki insists. She lifts her head up and her eyes soften when she sees Rantaro standing by the door. “Amami, you came.”

Kaito stops pacing so he can look at Rantaro.

“Rantaro, did you know that Ouma stabbed her?” Kaito asks, his voice laced with disgust. “You need to stay away from him from now on. I knew he was trouble!”

Rantaro wordlessly closes the door. 

“How is the investigation going?” Maki asks. “Have you figured out who did it?”

Rantaro shakes his head. “There’s next to know evidence. I’ve just been trying to get everyone’s alibis. You’re the last person I need to speak to, actually.”

Maki nods and uses one of her hands to wipe away sweat from her forehead. “I thought so.”

“Hey, don’t push yourself!” Kaito storms back over to Maki’s side. “You’re still recovering.”

“I’ve already said I’ve been through worse,” Maki says. She tilts her head so that she’s looking at Rantaro. “I went upstairs. I saw the exisal blocking the path to the downstairs steps and thought I had a better chance hiding upstairs.”

“Why did you take Ouma with you?”

“I had no idea if the partner rule was still in play,” Maki admits. “And I didn’t want to be killed over one little mistake.”

So that’s why Kokichi and Maki went upstairs together. 

“Where did you both hide?”

“H-Hey! Do you need to ask so many questions? She’s still recovering, you know?” Kaito says with a frown.

“Oh. Sorry.”

“It’s fine,” Maki says. “It’s better if I get all this out of the way anyway. I hid inside of this lab, actually.”

“And Ouma?”

“He did at first. Then we spotted Iruma fall over outside and Ouma decided to help her for whatever reason.”

Rantaro nods. “And how long did that take?”

Maki narrows her eyes. “Only a couple of seconds, why?”

“No reason,” Rantaro says. “Did you spot Shirogane whilst you were up there?”

Maki shakes her head. “I really didn’t. I only planned to stay upstairs until I heard the exisal leave. Instead, I left after I heard the window break.”

“Did you see who did it?”

There’s a pause before Maki shakes her head. “Whoever did it must’ve left after I left the lab. I didn’t see anyone. All I saw was the broken window.”

**Obtained truth bullet! “Maki’s testimony”**

“Before we finish actually,” Rantaro says. “There’s one last thing I want to ask you.”

“Okay?” Maki raises an eyebrow.

“Tojo said that you checked for Saihara’s pulse when he had been dropped from the exisal. Was...he dead or alive?” Rantaro asks. 

Kaito stands up a little straighter. 

Maki bites her lip. “There...was a pulse.”

“Then he’s still alive!” Kaito cries as he storms towards the door.

“Momota! He’s dead!” Maki shouts after him. “Even if he was alive when I checked his pulse, the body discovery still went off for him and he has his own Monokuma File! He must’ve died whilst the exisal was taking him downstairs!”

Kaito spins around, his coat swishing elegantly in the air. “But-”

“Momota, I really am sorry,” Maki says quietly. “I don’t want him to be dead either but he is. I know I messed up and I could’ve dragged him back into the room when I had the chance but I just wasn’t thinking properly.”

Kaito huffs through his nose. “It’s not your fault, Harumaki. I just…” He runs a hand through his hair. “I’m gonna keep believing that he’s alive. Until I see that he’s dead, then I’m going to keep on believing that he’s still okay. I believe in all of my sidekicks!”

Maki’s mouth twitches into a smile which she then quickly hides. “That’s nice, Momota.”

**Obtained truth bullet! “Shuichi’s time of death”**

Kaito’s face drops when he sees Maki start to sit up. “Wait a minute! What do you think you’re doing?!”

Maki blinks at him. “I’m going to head to the trial grounds. I doubt Monokuma is just going to let me skip the trial to recover.”

“B-But…” Kaito bites his lip. “Lean on me!”

Colour rushes to Maki’s cheeks as Kaito wraps an arm around her shoulders, keeping the two of them steady. 

“Don’t you worry, Maki! I’ll make sure that this trial is as quick as possible!” Kaito promises her. “Then you can go back to your room and recover!”

Maki looks away. “...thanks.”

Rantaro is about to follow the two out of the room when something catches his eye. He heads back into the detective’s lab and spots a glass bottle next to the fire place. He picks it up and reads the label.

“Antidote?” Rantaro murmurs. He shakes the bottle. There’s only a small bit left.

What’s this doing up here?

**Obtained truth bullet! “Antidote”**


	24. Chapter 24

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Today is my birthday so as a treat I've decided to upload this chapter early! Hooray!
> 
> I'm liking how this trial is going but at the same time I'm also dreading it lol. I hope you all enjoy it though! 
> 
> Thank you for reading and I hope you all enjoy!

The walk to the trial grounds is tense.

In front of Rantaro, Maki and Kaito hobble towards the elevator quietly. He can hear them murmuring to each other but he can’t make out what they’re saying. However, Rantaro can catch Kaito glancing at the metal door down by Miu’s lab longingly.

Everyone gathers around the fountain quietly. 

“I see Ouma isn’t here yet,” Kiyo observes. “I wonder if he’ll join us or not.”

“He has to. He’ll get punished otherwise,” Himiko says. 

Maki scowls. It’s deep and scary. “I don’t care. I hope he doesn’t turn up.”

Rantaro expects Kaito to scold her for saying this or at least a sigh. He’s surprised when Kaito’s face goes hard and gives his own nod of agreement.

“He’s gone too far this time.”

“Still,” Kirumi says as she adjusts her skirts. “Despite what he’s done I don’t want him to needlessly get punished. Harukawa survived the attack. Besides, we all need to work together in order to complete this class trial. I can’t help but notice that we’re lacking in the evidence department.”

“All we’ve got are some shitty alibis!” Miu cries in agreement. 

Himiko frowns. “And it’s clear that someone has been lying. Everyone claims that they never spotted Shirogane during the exisal attack but someone must've pushed her.” She warily eyes everyone, her eyes only softening when she spots Rantaro. “Only Amami and I are truly innocent right now.”

“We can discuss who lied or not during the trial,” Kirumi says. “Like I said, we all need to work together. Our group is getting smaller and smaller and if we all start to fall apart now then all of us may potentially be killed.”

“Right. Our only option now is to stick together,” Rantaro agrees. Still, he can still feel his confidence slowly disintegrate. Right now, the only two people who are standing next to each other are Maki and Kaito. Everyone else is a fair couple of feet away from each other and giving each other hidden looks. It’s clear that right now, no one really trusts anyone. 

He wishes someone would just take control. Usually, it would be Kaede giving everyone the confidence to face a class trial. Hell, even Kaito used to chip in with his own words of encouragement. Now, he’s using his body as a shield to hide Maki away from the group, terrified that he’s going to lose his last remaining sidekick. 

It’s sad, really. He started off having Kaede, Shuichi and Maki as his three sidekicks. Now he only has one left and Maki had also only been stabbed under an hour ago. There’s no way Rantaro could imagine what is going through Kaito’s head right now. 

His eyes flicker over to the rest of the group. 

Himiko is standing near him and if she really wanted to, she could dive behind him. It makes him want to hide her away from everything. From the back of his mind, he has to remind himself that she isn’t one of his little sisters. Still, he’s flooded with trust when when he looks at her because right now, she’s the only one here he can really trust. Only himself and Himiko hadn’t been in the room when everything had gone to shit. 

He wants to trust Kirumi’s alibi. She doesn’t seem like the type who would lie. However, he never had the chance to ask Kaito if she was with him or not when he had been chasing after Shuichi. There’s also the possibility that Kaito never noticed that she was with him too. He seemed too determined to save one of his sidekicks. 

Then there’s everyone who went upstairs. Rantaro finds it strange that so many people decided to go upstairs rather than hide downstairs. Wouldn’t it have been smarter to evacuate the building? Hiding upstairs would’ve only made you trapped. He thinks of Kiyo, Miu, Kokichi and Maki. Is it a coincidence that four people decided that going upstairs would’ve been the safest option?

Did any of them even know that Tsumugi had gone upstairs?

Perhaps he should save these thoughts for the class trial. 

Kokichi still isn’t there when the large Monokuma statue breaks and the doors to the elevator open up. 

Rantaro hovers nervously at the doors, waiting for everyone else to go inside. 

“Amami? Aren’t you joining us?” Kiyo asks, even going as far as holding out his hand.

Rantaro stares at the expectant hand before shaking his head. “Someone has to wait for Ouma to arrive.”

Maki scoffs. “You’re really going to waste your time waiting for him?”

“It’s just not fair if we start the trial without him,” Rantaro counters. “Whether you like it or not, Harukawa, Ouma is also apart of our group.”

Maki opens and closes her mouth before sighing. “Whatever. It’s not like I care when we start this stupid trial anyway.”

“Well, we would all preferably would like to finish this trial as soon as possible,” Kiyo says. “However, we’ll all make sure that Monokuma doesn’t start the trail too soon. Just make sure you don’t wait around for Ouma for too long. You wouldn’t want to get punished yourself, Amami.”

Rantaro watches as the elevator doors close, sealing away most of his classmates. He takes a moment to realise that there’s only half of the group left at this point. How has he let so many people down?

No, he can’t think like that. There isn’t any time. He can do the next best thing and find Kokichi so that he isn’t late for the trial.

He just finds it strange that Kokichi of all people didn’t show up for the trial. Doesn’t Kokichi like doing the trials? He certainly is a big help during them, even though no one else would agree. 

“Ouma?” Rantaro calls as he opens up the red door. He glances around the courtyard and droops when he realises that Kokichi is nowhere in sight. “Ouma, you’re going to be late for the trial!”

He hopes that everyone else can hold Monokuma off long enough for Rantaro to bring Kokichi to the trial. He has a feeling that if he did go with everyone then they would’ve just started the trial regardless if Kokichi was there or not. 

Kokichi’s bedroom seems like the smartest place to go. He heads into the dormitories and this time, knocks on Kokichi’s bedroom door before entering, not wanting to anger the boy again. However, he soon realises that the bedroom is empty and Kokichi is most definitely not inside. He even checks the bathroom. The only things out of place is the bloody uniform that’s been left in a heap on the floor and the pink water inside the bathtub. 

He picks up the uniform and flinches. There’s so much blood on the uniform. He shakes it instinctively to try and remove the creases when he finally notices something. 

“Why is there..?” Rantaro ponders

**Obtained truth bullet! “Kokichi’s uniform”**

He sighs and goes to leave when he realises just how messy Kokichi’s room is. There’s stuff littered everywhere. He recognises some items from previous trials. On Kokichi’s desk is a shot put ball, a disposable camera and a motive video. He finds out that the motive video belongs to Ryoma after turning it on. Rantaro promptly turns off the video and places the tablet back down where he found it. 

There’s also some other random items scattered around the room. Rantaro raises an eyebrow at the horse head that is sitting on Kokichi’s bed. Honestly, it looks rather disturbing. Rantaro turns away from it quickly and instead focuses on the piles of boxes that Kokichi has pushed up against the bedroom walls. 

Every single one of them are full of paper, although some pieces are blank and others have strange drawings on them. Rantaro can’t tell if these pictures were already in Kokichi’s room when he had arrived or if Kokichi drew them himself. However, Rantaro thinks it may be the latter due to the obscene amount of purple crayon used with each drawing. 

Writing also accompanies some of the drawings. Rantaro tries to read what the words say and it takes him a while to realise that everything that Kokichi has written is in a completely different language. Rantaro blinks at the piece of paper in his hands. The writing certainly isn’t in Japanese. It can’t be English either since Rantaro likes to think that he’s somewhat good at speaking it. French, maybe? Whatever language it is, Rantaro knows he won’t be able to translate what Kokichi has written. 

Perhaps he did this on purpose? Kokichi has always been secretive. Rantaro is impressed however. Kokichi must be a lot smarter than he really does let on. 

He turns his attention to the whiteboard that’s facing Kokichi’s bed. Kokichi has pinned photos all over the whiteboard and has put them into different groups. There’s a cluster of photos that Rantaro recognises as victims. There’s another group that have been labelled the killers. The rest of the photos have been placed at different areas of the whiteboard, each of them having a little note to the side or under them. 

Instinctively, he goes for his own photo first. 

_“Almost got turned into guacamole. Clearly his talent doesn’t match his actions.”_

Rantaro blanches before sighing. 

Near his photo is Kaito and Maki. 

_“Daaaaaarling Momota! His 'illness' seems as fake as this game."_

_“Dangerous. Why does everyone trust her? Something isn’t adding up.”_

Then there’s Kirumi and Kiyo. 

_“Dearest mother! Clearly has a thing for avocados. Can I trust her?”_

_“Weird???”_

Himiko’s portrait is on her own. 

_“Undecided.”_

Miu’s portrait is also on her own. 

_“;)))))”_

Finally, there’s Shuichi’s and Tsumugi’s portraits. Clearly Kokichi hasn’t had time to move them over to the victim corner of the whiteboard. 

_“Trustworthy?”_

_“Red herring? Too obvious yet not obvious enough. Keep an eye on her.”_

Clearly someone had their eye on her. 

Rantaro leaves the bedroom after realising that he’s wasting time looking over the whiteboard. Still, it was interesting being able to read some of Kokichi’s thoughts, which are as cryptic as the boy himself. 

He leaves the dormitories with a frown and he’s so deep in thought that he almost knocks over the person he’s been looking for all this time. 

“Ouma!” Rantaro yells and grabs Kokichi’s arm. “What are you doing? You’re going to miss the class trial!”

Kokichi almost looks as stunned as Rantaro sounds. Kokichi shakes his head and starts to grin. “Eh, that’s ironic coming from you! Why aren’t you at the trial, Ran-chan? You’ll get punished if you’re late, you know?”

“I needed to find you first,” Rantaro admits. His grip on Kokichi’s arm goes soft. “I just couldn’t go down to the trial room with everyone else. They would’ve started without you.”

“And you think that they won’t start without you either? Man, you think super highly of yourself!” Kokichi coos. “Anyway, I was finding one last piece of evidence for you all because I’m super duper nice like that, you know?”

Kokichi smiles as he pulls out a knife from his sleeve.

Rantaro’s jaw drops. “Ouma, what are you doing with that?”

“It’s evidence! Weren’t you listening to what I was just saying?” Kokichi sighs. He holds the knife by the blade, dangling the knife from the tips of two of his fingers. The blade is covered in blood that still looks a little wet. However, what’s more curious is that the knife’s handle is also covered in blood. “This is just for your eyes only too, Ran-chan!”

“Huh?”

“I’m not going to register this as evidence,” Kokichi tells him as he hides the knife back up his shirt sleeve. “Because who knows if it really is evidence. The knife could just be a lie.”

“Then why did you show me it?” Rantaro asks. “I don’t understand.”

Kokichi shrugs, although his eyes start to shine. “Who knows. Maybe the knife isn’t evidence at all and I’m just carrying it around to keep me safe. Harukawa will probably try to murder me the moment I step inside of the trial room. I need something to defend myself with!”

“So you’re just going to stab her again?”

Kokichi cocks his head to the side. “Again? Who knows? Maybe I won’t be as lucky this time around.”

He starts to saunter towards the red door, his wrapped hands behind his back and a posture suggesting that he has no care in the world. Rantaro barely recognises the slight bulge in Kokichi’s sleeve where the knife is currently hiding. He’s not sure whether or not he should let Kokichi have the knife.

“Ouma, are you really sure you want to be holding onto that knife?”

“Huh? Why?”

“What if you get overpowered?” Rantaro asks. “If someone notices it then they might think you’ll...attack someone again. Maybe I should keep a hold of it.”

“Nope!” Kokichi instantly answers. “Find your own trump card!”

Kokichi doesn’t bother to hold the door open for Rantaro and he has to catch it before the red door hits him in the face. Kokichi does however wait for him by the elevator doors, which are wide open.

“Looks like Monokuma is waiting for us,” Kokichi says and steps into the elevator at the same time as Rantaro. 

“Let’s just hope he isn’t too angry.”

“Pfft, who cares about that!” Kokichi says as he rolls his eyes. “We’re too far into the game for him to start taking his threats easily. He’d be shooting himself in the foot at this point if he killed any one of us. He wants this killing game to last as long as possible. Besides, there’s hardly any exisals left to punish us anyway.”

“That’s right, the green one took out two of them,” Rantaro realises. “And it disappeared with Saihara too.”

“Riiight!”

The descent to the bottom almost goes sickeningly too fast. Perhaps it’s only because there’s two people inside of the elevator?

Kokichi hums as he waits by the doors, rocking back and forth on his heels.

“Ouma, aren’t you not scared that you might be attacked if you stand too close to the doors? Harukawa might be waiting for you.”

“I highly doubt it,” Kokichi says. 

“She is really angry at you, you know?”

“Let her be angry!” Kokichi responds. “It doesn’t bother me in the slightest!”

“Just...don’t try and start too many arguments. I don’t think anyone will take your side, Ouma.”

Kokichi pauses and then shrugs. “It would be boring if they did.”

“This isn’t about it being boring or not. You’re already one of the top suspects as it is,” Rantaro says. “And you’re also going to have no one backing you up if you do try and make a point. Just, I don’t know, try not to upset everyone?”

“And where’s the fun in that?” Kokichi says before yawning. “Man, you’re being super boring right now. If you want to make it up to me then help me make this trial as long as possible!”

“Why do you want this trial to be as long as possi-”

He doesn’t get the chance to finish his question before the elevator doors open.

There’s a momentary brightness before Rantaro can finally see. Everyone is already standing at their assigned podiums and Rantaro quickly rushes so he can stand at his. Kokichi, on the other hand, slowly makes his way over to his podium, grinning at Monokuma the entire time. 

“It’s about time you both showed up!” Monokuma impatiently snaps. “I was seconds away from finding you both myself! You hear that? Seconds!”

“We’re here now, aren’t we?” Kokichi drawls as he leans heavily on his podium. “So how about you stop wasting my time and let me start this trial!”

Monokuma’s face turns an ugly shade of red. 

“Let you start this trial?” Kaito suddenly echoes incredulously. “You have some fucking nerve!”

“Eh? What’s wrong, Momo-chan?”

“Maki almost died because of you!” Kaito shouts.

“Well, she did try to kill me too,” Kokichi adds with a sniffle. “It was super scary, you know?”

Maki’s eyes go narrow. “Then do us all a favour and act more scared.”

“Excuse me everyone but I really do think we should be talking about something else right now,” Kirumi cuts in. “I understand that we’re all currently...upset with Ouma right now but this trial isn’t about Harukawa or Ouma. We need to figure out who killed Shirogane.”

“Yeah, the sooner we finish this trial the sooner I can go and save my sidekick!” Kaito announces. “Although I still have a pretty big fucking bone to pick with Ouma.”

“Ooh, what sort of big bone?” Miu asks.

“We’ll deal with him later,” Maki promises. “But I agree. I would like to get this trial done as soon as possible.” She lightly touches her stomach. She hasn’t changed out of her uniform so her red shirt still has a huge hole in it.

“Um,” Himiko says as she adjusts her hat. “Isn’t this trial for Saihara and Shirogane? Momota just said that he wants to find Saihara but he’s dead, right? It even says so in the Monokuma File.”

“The Monokuma File doesn’t mean shit,” Kaito quickly responds. “It’s glitching out anyway. There’s no way we can trust it!”

“Of course you can trust it!” Monokuma yells from his chair. “I make the files myself! I have absolutely no reason to lie in any of them!”

“Whilst that may be true,” Kiyo says. “I would like everyone to turn their attention to Shirogane’s file. It has been worded rather peculiarly. Whilst I don’t agree with Momota’s reasoning, I also have the feeling that we can’t trust the files either.”

“Monokuma seemed like he was really angry at Shirogane when he wrote her’s,” Himiko points out. “I wonder why that is?”

“Oh, oh!” Kokichi sticks his hand up in the air and waves it around. “I have an idea!”

“We don’t want to hear it,” Maki abruptly says. 

“But I think you should!” Kokichi continues. 

“Quit wasting our time!” Kaito retorts. “Why they hell should we trust anything you say?”

Kokichi stares at him. 

“If I may,” Kirumi says as she clears her throat. “I don’t think we currently have any evidence right now to suggest why Monokuma is so angry at Shirogane. I suggest that we instead discuss what useful information the Monokuma Files gave us. There’s something in particular I would like to talk about.”

“The floor is all yours,” Rantaro tells her. 

“Thank you, Amami. Now, I want you all to direct your attention to the end of each of the files,” Kirumi says. She points at Shirogane’s file. “Shirogane’s say that she died instantaneously, which would make sense since it’s likely her cause of death was being pushed from the window. No one would be able to survive a fall that height. However, Saihara’s file doesn’t tell us how quickly he died.”

“Indeed, it doesn’t,” Kiyo agrees. “The text is all glitched. In fact, it doesn’t even mention what his cause of death is.”

“That’s because he isn’t dead!” Kaito counters. “That’s why the file is so fucked up. I even bet Monokuma doesn’t know what happened to him!”

“I’ll have you know that I always know what happens to all of my students!” Monokuma bristles. “I know when they’re alive, when they’re dead, when they’re in the bathroom, how many poops they’ve had-”

“You’ve been counting our shit?!” Miu cries out in disappointment. 

Monokuma nods. “But as I was saying, I always know what condition all of my students are in!”

“Then why haven’t you said so in the Monokuma File?” Himiko asks. “This trial isn’t going to be very fair if you withhold information from us.”

“And didn’t you fuck up the last trial too by messing with the crime scenes?” Miu adds, putting a hand on her hip and pouting. “Why the hell should we play your game if you aren’t playing fairly?! You’ve already fucked us over once.”

“Riiight!” Kokichi agrees, bouncing up and down. “Well? What information are you trying to hide from us?”

“I’m not hiding anything!” Monokuma insists. 

Kaito stomps his foot. “Then fix the files!”

“There’s nothing wrong with them!”

“Clearly there is,” Maki says. 

“W-Well I was rushed for time!” Monokuma argues. “But once a file has been submitted I can’t change it!”

“You can’t update the files?” Kirumi asks as one of her fair eyebrows raise. 

Monokuma rubs his paw against his cheek, flushed. “Not right now, no.”

“You’re lying!” Himiko insists. “I’ll set your pants on fire!”

“He’s not wearing any pants,” Kiyo deadpans. 

“Then I’ll set his tail on fire!”

Claws quickly protrude from Monokuma’s paws. “I can have you punished for that!”

“W-Well maybe I don’t have to use any magic right now…”

Kaito shakes his head in disgust. “He’s still lying. He just doesn’t want to tell us that Shuichi is still alive!”

“He is dead!” Monokuma persists.

“Did you even write Saihara’s file?” Kokichi suddenly asks. 

“Huh?” Monokuma pauses. “O-Of course I did!”

Rantaro raises an eyebrow. “You don’t sound so certain.”

“You can be quiet!” Monokuma counters. “Of course I wrote the file! It’s under the Monokuma File, isn’t it? Not the Rantaro Amami File!”

“Well, yes-” Kirumi is cut off.

“Shouldn’t you all be discussing something else anyway?” Monokuma sighs. “You’re all wasting time right now and we’re all already behind as it is!”

“Oh, what a shame,” Kokichi says as he starts to check his fingernails. “But I guess we can talk about something else. All this talk about the Monokuma Files is boring anyway.”

“But the files are important,” Maki snaps. “I refuse to participate in another unfair trial.”

“Tough luck!” Monokuma mockingly cheers. “You’re all finishing this trial whether you like it or not!”

“Besides, the files are never really complete most of the time in the first place,” Kiyo says calmly. “Usually, it’s the times that are missing. However, this time around we do have a time for Shirogane’s death, just not Saihara’s.”

“Oh, is that so?” Miu asks. 

“Shirogane’s file said she died at 16:38,” Rantaro explains. “Whilst Saihara’s time of death is unknown.”

“He must’ve died before Shirogane, right?” Himiko asks. “We all saw him slump forward in the exisal. He didn’t move after that.”

“So does that mean we just need to vote for Shirogane?” Kiyo questions. “Because she was the one who caused Saihara’s death.”

“But that would make this trial way too fucking easy,” Miu snaps. “There’s no way that we can finish the trial this quickly. T-This has to be a trap or something!”

Himiko plays with the edge of her hat. “But he looked dead after the exisal picked him up.”

“He isn’t dead!” Kaito shouts in frustration.

_Nonstop Debate_

“How many times do I have to tell you all that he isn’t dead!” Kaito bellows at the group. 

“Well the file says otherwise, dipshit!” Miu disagrees. 

“He certainly is dead,” Kiyo says. 

“Saihara wouldn’t have a file otherwise,” Kirumi adds.

“Besides, even if he is alive right now then Monokuma would punish him for not taking part in the class trial! We should be hoping that he’s dead right now,” Kokichi points out.

“Take that back!” Kaito demands desperately. 

“He must’ve died when the first exisal picked him up,” Himiko says. “Otherwise I have no idea when he died!”

_Counter!_

“Yumeno, I don’t think anyone in this room really knows when Saihara died,” Rantaro says softly. “But it’s also wrong to say that he died instantaneously. Isn’t that right, Harukawa?”

Maki nods. “That’s right. He had a pulse when I checked on him with Momota.”

“Couldn’t you have brought that up earlier?” Himiko asks with a pout.

“I didn’t think it would’ve helped at all. Even if he didn’t die straight away, no one knows when he actually did die,” Maki says.

“Well that certainly is a problem,” Kiyo muses. “I was under the impression that we were all going to vote for Shirogane for causing Saihara’s death. However, if we don’t actually know when Saihara died then there is the possibility that he didn’t die straight away.”

“Are you saying he could’ve been alive after being grabbed by an exisal?” Kirumi asks as she puts a hand to his mouth. “But he must’ve been in so much pain. There was most certainly a cracking noise. I presumed that it must’ve been something serious but…”

Rantaro gestures towards his tablet. “Tojo, if you check the Monokuma File, it says that the first attack caused his leg to break.”

“Whilst that is indeed correct, the Monokuma File also said that there was only a chance that the first attack caused his leg to break. It isn’t certain that the first attack broke his leg or if it was broken later on,” Kiyo says. 

“But the cracking noise,” Kirumi insists. “Something must’ve broke.”

“Harukawa, did you notice if any of Saihara’s bones had been broken when he had been dropped?” Rantaro asks.

“I didn’t check,” Maki admits. “I was more focused on keeping Momota safe.”

Kaito grits his teeth. “I didn’t even think to check either. I just wanted to bring him back to the group…”

“We can’t even check Saihara’s body either,” Himiko says glumly. “Monokuma, can’t you help us out just a little bit?”

“Nope!” Monokuma answers. “That would certainly take away the mystery solving fun!”

“You’re an asshole, you know that?” Kaito snaps furiously. 

“Perhaps we shouldn’t focus on Saihara’s injuries for now,” Rantaro says, attempting to push the conversation in a different direction. “Instead, I think we should consider the possibility that maybe Saihara didn’t die first.”

“Huh? Then that means we’ll have to figure out who killed Shirogane,” Himiko points out, a light layer of sweat forming on her skin. “And we don’t have enough evidence to do that!”

“On top of that, someone must’ve lied in their alibi,” Rantaro says. “Everyone who went upstairs claimed that they hid whilst the exisals were attacking. However, someone must not be telling the truth because someone must’ve pushed Shirogane.”

“How do you even know if she was pushed in the first place?” Maki asks. 

Himiko blinks. “She must’ve been, right?”

“There’s still a way that she could’ve fallen through window without being pushed,” Maki says. “It’s really obvious if you think about it.”

“A way of falling through the window without being pushed?” Kiyo repeats. “Harukawa, are you suggesting that Shirogane committed suicide?”

Maki nods. “Why else would she have gone to the top floor? She knew that if she went up there then she would’ve just been trapping herself. The only reason she went upstairs was so that she could jump from the windows and escape her punishment. She clearly was terrified of Monokuma’s punishments. Instead of facing up to her actions, she threw herself out of the window.”

Kaito opens and closes his mouth before settling on his choice of words. “I didn’t actually...consider that as an option.”

“That is a good reason why Shirogane could’ve gone upstairs,” Himiko agrees. “It’s just...when we saw her body she was wearing this scary expression. She looked terrified.”

“Like she had known she was going to be pushed,” Rantaro agrees. “Harukawa, I understand your theory but I’m just not sure if I agree with it.”

“I see,” Maki says. “I suppose I don’t have any evidence to back it up either. However, it would explain all of the alibis.”

“Yeah, there really could be a chance that no one was lying about where they went!” Kaito agrees. 

“But for four people to be upstairs plus Shirogane…” Rantaro cringes when he says that out loud. “That’s way too many people that decided being upstairs would be safer than going downstairs.”

“It totally is!” Kokichi says as he nods his head rapidly. “That’s like, over half of us making really dumb decisions for no reasons!”

“Oi, weren’t you one of the people who went upstairs, you shitty looking dildo?!” Miu yells. “Unlike you, I didn’t go upstairs because I wanted to!”

“Then why did you go upstairs?” Kiyo asks. “I certainly didn’t see you.”

“I was fucking kidnapped!” Miu announces with a shudder. “Some asshole grabbed my arm and dragged me upstairs!”

“Did you not see them?” Himiko asks.

Miu trembles. “I have no fucking clue who did it but when I find out which one of you fuckers decided to kidnap me I’m gonna shove my entire foot up their ass!”

“It does seem a bit strange that someone decided to move Iruma upstairs,” Kirumi says. “What would be the point?”

“Well it certainly wasn’t to keep me safe!” Miu explains. “They just fucking pushed me onto the floor when the finally decided to let me go!”

“Did you not try to push them back?” Himiko asks.

“Well duh!” Miu says as she rolls her eyes. “But they must’ve moved or something because I ended up falling flat on my ass.”

“Clearly someone wanted you up there for a reason,” Kiyo says. 

“Iruma’s partner was Tojo, right?” Himiko says. “It couldn’t have been her. Tojo would’ve moved her somewhere safer.”

“Tojo was also one of the only two people who went downstairs,” Rantaro supplies. “Kaito went downstairs to chase after Saihara whilst Tojo followed him.”

“I simply did not think going upstairs was a smart idea,” Kirumi admits. 

“Well I’m glad someone in this group has at least one brain cell,” Miu huffs. “Why the fuck did you leave me on my own anyway?”

“Things were hectic, Iruma,” Kirumi explains. “If I had known someone had grabbed you then I would’ve gone after you.”

“Oh!” Himiko’s face lights up. “I know! Maybe if we figure out who left the computer room when then we can figure out who most likely pushed Shirogane!”

“And we can figure out who the fuck kidnapped me!”

“I see, that certainly is a good idea,” Kirumi says as Himiko starts to beam.

“Well, obviously Yumeno and Amami left first,” Maki says. “Although I don’t really know why.”

“Iruma asked us to get something from her lab!” Himiko happily answers. “What was it again? Ah, that’s right. Batteries! We didn’t actually find any though. Iruma’s lab is really messy.”

“W-Well I don’t have much time to keep it clean,” Miu admits. “I j-just keep all the important stuff out.”

“I’m pretty sure everything you kept out wasn’t that important,” Himiko says as her face scrunches up in disgust. 

“Right, so Rantaro and Yumeno left first!” Kaito says hurriedly. “Can we all just hurry up? My sidekick needs me!”

“Your sidekick is dead,” Kokichi corrects, ignoring the glare that Kaito shoots him. “Anyway, I’m pretty sure Saihara was the one who technically left the room next, you know, because he was pushed out of it.”

“The exisals kept a hold of him a large majority of the time,” Kiyo adds. “And I’m certain he became unconscious moments after the first exisal picked him up and we all heard that crack. I presume he was gravely injured because of how roughly the exisal treat him.”

“Momota and Harukawa then left the room together,” Kirumi says. “But we did see them the entire time as they had gone to retrieve Saihara.”

“When that had failed, Harukawa dragged Momota back into the room,” Kiyo continues. “After that, I recall it was Shirogane who bolted from the room.”

“That’s when Harukawa grabbed me and pulled me out of the room to follow her!” Kokichi chirps.

Maki pulls a face. “It wasn’t to follow her.”

“But you did end up upstairs, right?” Kokichi says. “You clearly were following her.”

“I just thought that going upstairs would be the smartest option,” Maki hisses. “Sometimes hiding in dumb places is safer than hiding in bigger areas. Your enemy sometimes won’t expect you to go somewhere so unpredictable. Besides, the exisal was blocking the path for downstairs. I had no option to go upstairs.”

“But why did you bring Ouma? I thought you hated him?” Himiko asks. 

“I do,” Maki answers easily. “But someone had to keep an eye on him. Clearly he’s not to be trusted anymore.”

“You wound me, Harumaki!” Kokichi cries dramatically. “Or is it me who wounds you, I wonder?”

Kaito’s shoulder shake as he raises his voice. “Shut the hell up! Just, shit, stop wasting my time!”

“In any case, yes, I did end up going upstairs with Ouma,” Maki says. “It was only us two that went upstairs together. Neither of us saw Shirogane whilst we were upstairs however.”

“Man, I really wanted to see her too!” Kokichi sighs. “I was hoping I would be able to push her out of the window!”

“I believe Momota left the room only moments after Harukawa and Ouma,” Kiyo says. “But it seems instead of going upstairs, he followed the exisal instead.”

“Of course I did!” Kaito agrees as he slams his fists together. “I needed to save my sidekick!”

“I thought it would be safer to leave whilst the exisal was distracted with Momota,” Kiyo admits. “I too saw that the path was blocked so I went upstairs and hid inside of Shirogane’s lab. It’s the first room I saw and then I realised that her room is rather spacious and full of sets. I thought it would be safer if I hid behind one of the sets due to their size.”

“So that’s three of the four people who went upstairs,” Himiko says. “But that doesn’t explain how Iruma was taken up there.”

“Do you have anything you want to say, Tojo?” Miu asks bitterly. “I knew I couldn’t trust your rigid ass!”

“Me?” Kirumi frowns. “My apologies but why are you blaming me for your kidnapping? I went downstairs along with Momota.”

“Well it had to have been you!” Miu insists. “There was no other fucker left to take me!”

“I dunno,” Kokichi says. “There is also one other person we haven’t mentioned who also ended up upstairs for a little while.”

“Huh, someone else?” Miu sniffs. “We’ve already went over everyone, dumbass!”

“Not everyone!” Kokichi smugly says.

_Mind Mine_

Once again, all of Rantaro’s thoughts are blocked off by colourful blocks. However, this time there’s more colours and smaller blocks. It’s irritating but Rantaro knows if he’s patient then he’ll be able to sort through them. He thinks about everyone who claimed to have gone upstairs. Maki and Kokichi both went upstairs first and he’s sure one of them would’ve said something if Miu was with them. Then Kiyo went upstairs. However, Kirumi also would’ve said something if she had seen Kiyo take Miu. Kirumi also claims that she never went upstairs and if that really is the truth then who would be left to take Miu upstairs? 

“Wait a second…” Rantaro slowly realises. “What if it was Shirogane who took Iruma upstairs?”

“Huh! But wasn’t Shirogane the first person to go upstairs?” Himiko asks. 

Maki shakes her head. “That’s what we’ve all been presuming. Shirogane could’ve easily hidden behind a statue and waited for everyone else to leave.”

“So that means you were telling the truth when you said you weren’t trying to follow Shirogane,” Kirumi says.

“That’s right,” Maki says before her face falls. “I have no reason to lie, after all.”

“So it was her who took me upstairs?” Miu shudders. “What the fuck?!”

“Well, if all our alibis check out then I suppose it could’ve been Shirogane,” Kiyo says. “And if that is the case then it seems that everyone had been telling the truth from the start.”

Rantaro feels the tips of his ears turn red. “And I doubted you all.”

“Any normal person would’ve had the same reaction,” Kirumi tells him. 

“So, Shirogane took Iruma upstairs? So what?” Kaito asks. “No offence but what does that have to do with the case?”

“I’m...not that sure,” Rantaro admits. “Iruma, you said that she dropped you after a while, correct?”

“Real fucking hard,” Miu says. “Then moments later I heard this big fucking crash when I was standing up.”

“A big crash? Perhaps...that was when Shirogane was pushed out of the window,” Kirumi says. 

Miu’s eyes go wide. “Are you fucking accusing me of something?!”

“No, not at all!”

“But perhaps we should be accusing Iruma,” Kiyo says. “Perhaps it was Iruma who was the one who pushed Shirogane from the window.”

“You have some fucking nerve you limp dick!” Miu roars. “Why the fuck would I do that?! Even if I did think she was the mastermind, I had no idea I was near any windows!”

Kiyo raises an eyebrow. “Is that so?”

“I can’t see you fucking moron!” Miu shouts before shoving her hands over her mouth. “W-Wait, that was a mistake!”

“Iruma, you’re blind?” Kaito blinks.

“You’ve got to be pretty blind yourself not to notice,” Kokichi says with a too cheerful voice. 

Miu runs both of her hands through her hair. “Shut up! I-I was just joking!”

“But if you were joking then you would’ve saw that there were windows nearby. You were angered that Shirogane kidnapped you so you pushed her from the window as revenge,” Kiyo concludes. “Is that not what happened?”

“No!” Miu wails. “I really didn’t know where she took me! I have no fucking clue if it was near any windows or what! All that I know is that she took me upstairs!”

“But can we trust what you’re saying?” Himiko asks. “Even if you didn’t mean to, you could’ve accidentally knocked Shirogane out of a window while you were trying to get back up.”

“Unlike you, I don’t accidentally fucking kill people!” Miu says with heavy sarcasm. “Anyway, how the fuck would me knocking into someone cause them to through a window? I would’ve had to have knocked her with some force! Besides, I didn’t even knock into her! I-I don’t even know who Shirogane is!”

“Well that’s clearly a lie,” Maki responds. “You’re going to have to try better than that.”

Miu blinks wildly as she holds her hands to her chest. “Y-You’ve all gotta believe me. I didn’t like that vanilla bitch but I-I wouldn’t try to kill her either! I really didn’t know where she dropped me! I-It could’ve been outside her own lab for all I know!”

“There’s simply just too many what ifs in your story, Iruma,” Kiyo says. 

Miu’s uniform sticks to her as her podium hovers towards the centre of the group.

“G-Guys…” Miu whimpers desperately. “A-Are you all really going to g-gang up on someone as perfect as me?”

“Wow! Iruma is getting super sweaty! Gross!” Kokichi calls from his podium.

“Shut up!”

_Nonstop Debate_

“Regardless if you can see or not, you could’ve killed Shirogane,” Kiyo says.

“I-I really didn’t!” Miu insists.

“You said you heard a loud crash only moments after Shirogane dropped you. I don’t recall there being any other loud crashes besides the one caused by Shirogane falling through the window,” Maki says. 

“I heard a-another loud crash!” Miu lies uselessly. 

“Man, if only someone could give Iruma an alibi right now!” Kokichi says with a sigh of disappointment. “Then maybe she wouldn’t be in this mess!”

“Then hurry up and give me one!” Miu wails. “Anyone is fine!”

_Consent!_

“Actually, there is someone who can give Iruma an alibi,” Rantaro says. He clears his throat expectantly. “Ouma, is there anything you would like to say.”

“Not particularly,” Kokichi confesses.

Miu’s eyes go wide from under her goggles. “You little shit! You helped me up, remember?!”

“I did?” Kokichi asks. “That’s news to me!”

“You did! I remember now!” Miu pushes. “My earpiece fell out of my ear and you gave it back to me!”

“Hmm, I’m not sure if I can remember all that happening,” Kokichi says.

Miu tugs on her hair in anger. “Yes you fucking do and you better start talking before I come over and rip off your sorry excuse of a dick!”

“Well if you put it that way!” Kokichi says cheerfully. “Then I _do_ remember helping someone upstairs!”

“Fucking finally!” Miu hisses as her podium finally joins the circle once more. “You’re an asshole, you know that?”

“So we’re relying on Ouma to give Iruma an alibi?” Kiyo asks, clearly not hiding his distaste towards the situation. “That certainly isn’t ideal.”

“Hey, I’ll have you know I’m amazing at giving alibis!” Kokichi claims. He crosses his arms and scratches his head. “Hmm, I do recall seeing an ugly pig on the floor upstairs. Well, it’s settled! That pig must’ve been Iruma!”

“W-Why do you i-insist on c-calling me a pig?!”

“Are you telling the truth, Ouma?” Kirumi asks. “Did you really help Iruma out when she was on the floor?”

“Well, it was more like I was worried about the earpiece that had fallen out of her ear,” Kokichi admits. 

“Earpiece? What earpiece?” Himiko questions. “Is the earpiece important to the trial?”

“Of course not you fucking ironing board!” Miu snaps. “Nothing about me has nothing to do with this trial because I didn’t kill Shirogane! Some other fucker must’ve done it.”

“And if you’re claiming that Ouma helped you up from the floor then shouldn’t we consider him the main suspect right now?” Kiyo says.

Kaito nods firmly. “That’s right! He must’ve been the only person who saw Shirogane upstairs!”

“And you think that my first reaction when I saw her was to push her?” Kokichi asks. “How lowly do you think of me?”

“You should know,” Kaito argues back. “Well, hurry up then! Confess!”

“To what? Helping Iruma up?”

“No! Tell everyone that you killed Shirogane!” Kaito shouts.

“Okay, I killed Shirogane!”

Kiyo pulls a face. “Somehow I feel like you’re not telling the truth about that.”

“Yeah, you’re right,” Kokichi says as he instantly droops. “Sorry, Momota. I’m just not into lying right now.”

Kaito slams both of his hands on his podium. “Ouma, just stop fucking around for one second and tell us the truth!”

“I already have told you the truth!” Kokichi shouts back, sounding a little annoyed. “Even Iruma can back me up!”

“It was definitely Ouma who helped me up,” Miu agrees. 

“But can we trust you both?” Himiko says. “You both look really guilty right now and you could both just be lying. Iruma said that she heard the crash moments after she was pushed and then conveniently Ouma was helping her up. I’m not buying Ouma’s story.”

“Indeed,” Kiyo agrees. “It’s likely that Ouma and Iruma were the only two people around when Shirogane was murdered.”

“Which means either it was Iruma who accidentally pushed Shirogane out of the window or it was Ouma,” Kaito says. “And from what he did to Harukawa, I know who I’d vote for.”

“I agree. It’s likely that Ouma is the culprit,” Kiyo says. 

“I’d vote for Ouma too,” Himiko adds.

“Me too,” Maki briefly says. 

Kirumi clasps her hands together lowly. “I’m afraid that I would also vote for Ouma.”

“N-Now hold on a second,” Miu quickly says. “Ouma was helping me up. H-He would’ve have time to kill Shirogane too! We still don’t know where the fuck she dropped me off at!”

“Well, Ouma?” Kaito snaps. “Where did Shirogane let Iruma go at?!”

Kokichi doesn’t respond. Instead, he looks like he’s dozing off.

Kaito furiously slams his fist down onto the podium. “Are you shitting me?! Are you actually falling asleep right now?! We’re trying to interrogate you, you bastard!”

“Huh?” Kokichi blinks, finally alert once more. “Whoopsie, did I fall asleep?”

“Momota asked you a question,” Kiyo says. “It would benefit you if you actually answered it.”

“Why bother,” Maki says. “He’s only trying to delay the inevitable.”

“That’s right!” Kokichi agrees. “I don’t wanna get punished just yet!”

“Was that a confession?!” Kaito cries. 

“Hmm, I don’t know. Was it?”

“Ouma, please stop messing around!” Rantaro pleads. “Just tell us the truth!”

“I don’t know about that,” Kokichi says. “Maybe I’ll tell everyone later.”

“So you do know who pushed Shirogane,” Kirumi declares incredulously. “Ouma, why do you want to drag this trial out? We could all be finished if you just do the right thing and tell the truth.”

“I mean, it would be a lot more helpful,” Kokichi agrees. “But there’s so much more we haven’t gone over yet!”

Maki sighs. “Like what?”

“Eh, you don’t seem too bothered by all this, Harukawa? Isn’t your wound bothering you?” Kokichi asks sweetly.

“Of course it is,” Maki snaps back. “But I also don’t have the energy to argue with you right now. If you want to waste everyone’s time then be my guest. You’ll be getting punished by Monokuma soon enough anyway.”

“Ouch, Harukawa is so mean!” Kokichi says as his bottom lip starts to wobble. 

“Ouma, please!” Himiko loudly begs. “I just want this to be over with! Just tell us the truth!”

“Okay! Which one?”

The room goes quiet before Rantaro finally gathers up the courage to ask, “what do you mean, which one?”


	25. Chapter 25

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Reading everyone's comments and theories has been so fun! Thank you all so much!
> 
> That being said I hope you all enjoy this chapter! I've spent all day working on it and editing it so I hope it's okay! I'm not sure when I'll be able to update this story as I'm going to start being busy again soon. Hopefully it doesn't take me too long to update though!
> 
> Thank you all for reading and I hope you all enjoy!

Kokichi smiles tightly. “It’s just, so many people are lying right now! I can’t keep track on what’s happening anymore!”

“The only liar in this room right now is you!” Kaito harshly insists. “Quit screwing around. I have a sidekick I need to save!”

“Why are you so obsessed with Saihara’s body?” Kokichi asks. “It’s not like he’s alive anymore, right? There’s not much for you to save, Momota.”

“Yes there is!”

“Ouma, stop trying to change the topic,” Kirumi says. “We’re not discussing Saihara’s state right now. We’re trying to figure out who killed Shirogane. Unfortunately, the only person who seems to know the answer is you.”

“And the killer,” Kokichi helpfully points out. “So why aren’t you asking them?”

“We are,” Maki says. “So just confess.”

“But Harukawa!” Kokichi whines. “I’ve _just_ said that I didn’t kill her!”

Himiko tugs on her hat. “But you hinted that you do know who pushed her! Ouma, why can’t you just tell us what happened? Nobody wants this! We all just want to go home!”

“You’ll have to win the killing game to do that,” Kokichi answers. “Is that what you’re going to do, Yumeno? Kill some more people so that you can go home? Hey, why aren’t we picking on Yumeno anyway? She’s been the one going on about how much she wants to go home.”

“Unlike you, Yumeno has a solid alibi,” Kiyo says. “She’s also one of the two people who definitely couldn’t have killed Shirogane.”

Himiko nods. Her skin is now pale. “A-And how dare you say that I should go and kill more people. What happened with Angie was an accident!”

“Oh really?” Kokichi drawls. “How interesting.”

“I’m getting sick of this!” Kaito hisses. “Monokuma, let’s just start the vote. It’s clear that this little shit isn’t going to confess.”

“Eh, you want to vote now?” Monokuma blinks. “But it’s much too early!”

“We’ve already found Shirogane’s killer,” Maki answers. “So there’s no point in dragging out this trial any longer. The sooner we leave, the sooner Momota can find Saihara.”

Kaito nods firmly. “That’s right. I have a sidekick I need to save!”

“But we still haven’t discussed everything,” Rantaro says. “Kaito, I’m sorry. I know you want to leave as soon as possible but nothing is adding up right now. As much as you want him to, Ouma hasn’t actually confessed to anything yet. Until we get a confession from someone then we can’t end this trial.”

“It’s clear that he’s Shirogane’s killer!” Kaito insists. “Just look at him!”

Kokichi waves at Rantaro. “Amami! They’re all ganging up on me!”

“You certainly aren’t doing anything to help yourself right now,” Kirumi reminds the smaller boy. “But if it wasn’t you who pushed Shirogane then who was it, Ouma? You’ve already implied that you saw the culprit. What do you have to gain by keeping this trial going?”

“Oh, you’ll all find out soon enough,” Kokichi answers. 

“So you want this trial to last a while?” Miu asks. “And why the fuck is that?”

“Ouma knows Momota wants to leave as soon as possible,” Kiyo says. “Why on earth does he want to drag out this trial? Is it that he doesn’t want us to find out the truth?”

“Is he trying to get us all killed?!” Himiko suggests. 

“I bet he’s trying to get us to vote wrong so he can leave,” Maki says darkly. “But it won’t happen. I won’t let him ruin this trial.”

“But he’s not saying anything!” Himiko stresses. “Ouma, please! I really do just want to go home!”

Kokichi claps his hands together. “Okay!”

“What, so you’re finally going to confess?” Kaito says bitterly. “Fucking finally.”

“No, I’m not going to confess,” Kokichi admits. “But someone else will.”

“How are you so sure about that?” Maki asks. 

“Let’s just say I have a feeling,” Kokichi says. He pulls on his scarf. “Man, is it getting hot in here or is it just me?”

Kirumi raises an eyebrow. “You’re warm? I must admit that I’m actually feeling rather chilly right now.”

“I must agree with Tojo,” Kiyo says. “It’s rather cool in this room.”

“He’s just trying to change the topic again,” Himiko pouts. “Ouma, can’t you just say something helpful? If you know what happened upstairs then just tell everyone!”

Kokichi blinks at her before smiling. “Sorry, no can do, Yumeno!”

“Ouma,” Kiyo says before sighing loudly. “You’re starting to give me a headache.”

“Oh, you have a headache too?” Kokichi says. “That means we’re matching, Shinguji! Isn't this great?”

“No.”

“It’s clear we’re not getting anything else from Ouma at the moment,” Kirumi says as she pinches in between her eyebrows. She’s looking rather fed up, which is a surprising look on the maid. “So I propose we change the topic just for now.”

“Right,” Rantaro agrees. “Kaito, I really am sorry but we need to continue this class trial. Hopefully Ouma will decide to talk soon.”

Kaito grits his teeth. “Fine. Whatever.”

“Why are we all trying to find out who killed Shirogane anyway?” Miu questions. “Did we even find any proof that Saihara died first?”

“Harukawa said that she found a pulse on him when she checked him,” Himiko reminds her. “That means we don’t actually know when he died.”

“That is correct,” Kirumi agrees. “Although, I do remember two body discovery announcements playing.”

“The announcement only played when Yumeno and I saw Saihara,” Rantaro adds.

Himiko nods in agreement. “But we also heard a crash before we saw the exisal.”

“That means Saihara could’ve died after Shirogane was pushed,” Kiyo says. “Or he could’ve died whilst the exisal was taking him outside. However, we simply do not have any evidence to suggest when he died.”

“If Monokuma decides to get off his ass then maybe we could have some,” Miu points out.

“It’s like I said, I can’t change the Monokuma Files right now!” Monokuma answers. “I’m in the dark as much as you all are too!”

Kaito spins around on his podium. “And what the hell is that supposed to mean!?”

“Eh…” Monokuma puts a paw to his mouth. “Ehhh?!”

“Well?” Maki raises an expectant eyebrow. “Monokuma, explain yourself.”

“I-It was a slip of the tongue!” Monokuma insists. “I was getting so into this trial that I felt like I was apart of it, you see!”

“That doesn’t answer anything!” Kaito retorts as he rolls the sleeves of his jacket up his arms. “That’s it! I’m not taking apart of this class trial anymore! Clearly no one knows what’s going on anymore and the only person who does isn’t saying anything!”

Kokichi giggles. “All in due time, Momota!”

“But Momota has a point,” Maki agrees. “We shouldn’t have to take part in another rigged class trial. Obviously Monokuma is lying about something.”

“T-That’s not it at all!”

“Then tell us the truth!” Kaito demands. “Where’s my sidekick?!”

Monokuma is cut off when the doors to the elevator open wide. Everyone in the room instantly turn their attention to the doors and are all filled with the same disappointment when Monodam walks into the room. The small green bear stares at the group before heading over to his own podium near Monokuma.

“W-Wait a minute!” Kaito cries. “You were the one who took him, right? Where is he?!”

Monodam blinks. “Saihara-has-been-taken-care-of.”

Everyone’s tablets let out a ping at the same time.

“I-have-updated-the-Monokuma-Files.”

“So it was you who created his!” Monokuma snaps. “I never gave you permission to do that! I thought that my perfect program had been hacked!”

“It-was-necessary,” Monodam answers. “But-now-the-trial-can-continue.”

“Like hell it can!” Kaito continues. “How the hell am I supposed to trust this! This file must be a lie!”

“But Momota,” Kirumi softly says. “This file can also help us continue the trial. Look, there’s a time of death.”

_“The victim received punishment at 19:48”_

“You killed him?” Himiko asks as she hugs herself. 

“Now hold on just a second!” Kaito insists desperately. “This has to be another fucking lie. Everyone saw that the red and the pink exisals were trying to punish him! You took them both out!”

“Indeed,” Kiyo agrees. “There’s plenty of witnesses to prove this.”

“The-mastermind-requested-that-Saihara-was-to-be-punished-in-private,” Monodam explains. “Shuichi-Saihara-has-received-his-punishment.”

“So he’s definitely dead?” Himiko questions quietly.

“He-has-received-his-punishment.”

“Now you can all continue with the class trial!” Monokuma celebrates. “Now hurry up!”

“But I refuse to believe this!” Kaito retorts. “Where’s the proof, huh?”

Monodam pauses before pulling something from behind him. A secret pocket, perhaps? He throws it towards the group. 

Rantaro watches as a hat lands on the floor in the middle of the group.

“Saihara’s hat?” Kirumi’s eyes widen. “How did you get that?”

“Haven’t you all been listening?” Kokichi complains. “Monodam clearly just said that Saihara has received a punishment of some sort. Obviously Monodam took the hat from Saihara and brought it here as proof!”

“Shut up!”

“Harukawa, can you tell your boyfriend to please be quiet,” Kiyo requests. “I understand that he doesn’t want Saihara to be dead but there’s simply no evidence to suggest that he’s alive otherwise.”

Maki bristles. “We’re not dating…”

“I don’t think you’re supposed to focus on that part of what he said,” Himiko helpfully points out.

“Indeed,” Kirumi says. “However, I do find it curious that the body discovery announcement went off earlier than the time says on the Monokuma File.”

“Okay, so we may have lied about him dying before,” Monokuma says with a very fake sweet voice.

“But…” Kaito shakes his head. “But that’s impossible. There’s no way that…”

“Momota,” Maki murmurs softly. 

“God damnit!” Kaito slams his shaking fist down onto his podium as he takes a deep breath. “This is bullshit! He was alive all this time? Are you telling me I could’ve saved him? That he was waiting for me and I just let him down?”

“Momota, Saihara’s death isn’t your fault,” Kirumi tells him gently. 

“What about him?!” Kaito continues as he points at Kiyo. “Why the hell isn’t he dead?”

“There would’ve been too many deaths in one go,” Monokuma says. “I was only expecting one death this time around yet someone had to go and push Shirogane out of the window. If she was here then Shinguji would’ve also received his punishment.”

“A terrifying thought really,” Kiyo says. “I suppose I should thank Shirogane for taking my place.”

“But why did you choose Saihara?” Maki asks. “Out of the two of them, why Saihara?”

“He was the one who was pushed,” Monokuma answers. “And the easiest person to get to. I suppose if someone had brought him back into the computer room then things would be different right now but hey, I wasn’t the one who picked the dying astronaut over the detective!”

Maki scowls. “I acted on instinct.”

“Leave Maki alone!” Kaito shouts. “She didn’t know all this was going to happen. If anything, it’s all my fault that Shuichi is dead. I could’ve also saved him but I failed. Some hero I am.”

“Momota, don’t blame yourself,” Maki says. “We can’t change what happened but for your sake we need to continue this class trial.”

“That’s right,” Kirumi says. “We’ve finally received some evidence that tells us that Shirogane was killed first. Since we know that Saihara was killed by a punishment we should move on and find out who killed Shirogane.”

Miu groans. “Great, back to square fucking one.”

“At least now we know that we’re looking for Shirogane’s killer,” Kiyo points out. “Which does mean we should go back to questioning Ouma.”

“That’s right! Ouma, tell us what happened!” Himiko cries before blinking. “Huh, Ouma?”

“Is he asleep?” Rantaro asks. 

“Again?” Kirumi incredulously adds. 

“Um…” Himiko pokes Kokichi’s shoulder. “Hey! We have a class trial to finish and we need to question you!”

Kokichi, who has his head resting on his arms and his arms resting on his podium, stirs before lifting his head up. “Hmm?”

“I don’t believe this,” Maki harshly says. 

“Ouma, now isn’t the time to be napping,” Kiyo says. 

“Ah, sorry!” Kokichi responds and rubs his eyes. “It’s just that everything is so boring right now! I had no choice but to go to sleep! I’m so thankful that my darling Yumeno woke me up though! Who knows what would’ve happened if she let me stay asleep!”

“We all would’ve died,” Himiko answers. “Because you’re the only one who knows what’s going on!”

“Hmm, not just me,” Kokichi says. “The real killer too, remember”?

“Yeah, and you’re the only dipshit who knows who the killer is, _remember_?” Miu responds mockingly. 

“Well, the killer could do us all a favour and just reveal themselves right now,” Kokichi says. 

“That’s obviously not going to happen,” Kiyo sighs. 

“Fine,” Maki suddenly says. “If Ouma isn’t going to say anything then we can continue this trial without him. He clearly doesn’t care if we all die or not.”

“He’s probably the killer and just doesn’t want to get caught,” Himiko mumbles darkly. “After all, he’s already said that he saw who killed Shirogane. He could just be lying and actually pushed her himself!”

Rantaro clears his throat. “We’ll find out if that’s the truth or not after we look through the evidence some more.”

“Indeed,” Kirumi says with a nod. “On top of that, we only need to interrogate four people, correct? Only four people went upstairs during Shirogane’s murder.”

“Harukawa, Ouma, Iruma and Shinguji,” Himiko lists off using her fingers. “And we’ve already eliminated Iruma being the killer.”

“For now,” Kiyo says. “Unfortunately, the only person capable of giving her an alibi at this current moment is Ouma and I don’t trust him at all.”

“Me neither,” Kaito agrees.

“Oh, so no one trusts me though?!” Miu bitterly bites. “Well fuck all y’all!”

“It’s not that we don’t trust you, Iruma,” Kirumi explains. “But there isn’t much evidence to say that you weren’t the one who pushed Shirogane. After all, there is a small chance you may have pushed her out of the window on accident.”

“H-Huh?”

“Iruma can’t see,” Himiko realises. “And until Ouma says otherwise, there is a chance that she pushed Shirogane out of the window when she was getting up from the floor.”

“I thought no one was going to trust what I had to say?” Kokichi reminds the small mage. “Or was that a lie?”

“Of course we’re not going to trust anything you say!” Kaito responds. 

“Momota, calm down,” Maki says. “We’ll catch him in one of his lies soon enough.”

Kokichi smugly smiles. “Oh really, Harukawa?”

Maki’s eyes flash dangerously. 

“Maybe instead of pointing fingers at random we should instead try and figure out what the motive was that got Shirogane killed,” Kirumi suggests. 

“That seems like a good idea,” Rantaro says, desperately hoping to get the trial back on track. They aren’t going to get anywhere if everyone continues to act so hostile towards Kokichi. 

“If Shirogane really was pushed by someone then it’s probably because everyone thought she was the mastermind, right?” Himiko says. “Someone found a picture of Shirogane in the computer room.”

“That would be Momota,” Kiyo says. 

Kaito scratches the back of his head. “Well, yeah. I found it under one of the chairs or something.”

“It must’ve slipped out of one of the files Saihara had been reading,” Kirumi realises. 

“Wasn’t it Harukawa who started to act all stabby towards Shirogane?” Miu asks. “She sounded pretty pissed to me.”

Maki glowers at the pink inventor. “I had every right to be suspicious. That doesn’t mean I killed her however. As an assassin, I would’ve killed her in a less obvious way.”

“We’re not talking about if you’re suspicious or not right now,” Rantaro reminds her. “We’re simply figuring out why Shirogane was pushed.”

“Unless you would like to confess to something?” Kiyo hints, raising an eyebrow.

“Of course I have nothing to confess to,” Maki threateningly says, squaring her shoulders up before wincing and lightly putting her hand on her wrapped wound. “Just...let’s continue with the trial.”

“Maki, if you’re not feeling so good you can just sit out,” Kaito hurriedly says. 

“Unfortunately, that won’t be possible,” Kirumi says. “Until Harukawa can give us evidence that it wasn’t her who pushed Shirogane then she will have to participate in this trial until it’s over.”

“She obviously didn’t kill Shirogane!” Kaito responds with wide eyes. “She said she wasn’t going to try and kill anyone again!”

“Did Harukawa actually say that?” Himiko asks. 

“I’m not stupid enough to try and kill someone again,” Maki says quietly. “I’ve already learnt my lesson.”

Rantaro sighs. “We’re getting off topic. We’re supposed to be talking about the photograph found inside the computer room.”

“Yeah, we can talk about whether Harukawa is guilty or not later!” Himiko cries. 

“But you literally just participated in that conversation!” Miu retorts.

Kirumi clears her throat. “So Momota was the one who found it, correct?”

“Yeah,” Kaito responds impatiently. “That doesn’t mean I’m the killer though!”

“But you are lying about something,” Kokichi says, causing the entire room to jump. 

Himiko puts a hand to her chest. “I thought you were dead since you’d been quiet for so long!”

“It would’ve been better if he had stayed dead,” Maki bluntly says. 

“Harukawa, you really wound me!” Kokichi sniffs. “But anyway, Momota? Is there something you would like to say?”

“Not really,” Kaito admits. 

Kokichi shrugs. “Well then, you won’t start sweating if I point out that the photograph of Shirogane clearly has been ripped in half?”

“W-Well,” Kaito responds, rubbing his nose. “I found it like that!”

“Oh really?”

“Whilst that it’s clear the photograph has been ripped, the other part of it has also not been found,” Kiyo points out. “As well as that, no one knows if that part of the photograph was the only part of the photograph in the file, correct?”

“Saihara never mentioned anything about a photograph,” Maki says. “He probably would’ve said something.”

“I dunno,” Himiko replies. “He seemed like the type who would’ve gathered enough evidence against someone first before he’d accuse them of something.”

“Saihara also was the only person who tried to defend Shirogane when we all accused her of being the mastermind,” Kirumi says.

Kaito sniffs. “Yeah, and look where that fucking left him.”

“So it’s decided that it was most definitely Momota who found the photograph first?” Rantaro concludes. 

“Maybe,” Himiko says. “For now.”

“Prolly was M’mota who found it first,” Kokichi says. “Saihara seemed...surprised when he saw the picture.”

Kaito sighs loudly. “Speak up, will ya? No one can hear you when you murmur like that!”

“I said Saihara seemed surprised when he saw the picture!” Kokichi yells loudly. 

Himiko covers her ears with her hands, eyes narrowed. “You don’t need to yell in my ear!”

“He does have a point,” Rantaro realises. “When Momota showed us the photograph, Saihara looked like he had never seen it before.”

“So Momota really was the first person to see the photograph,” Kirumi concludes. “If that is the case...Momota, what state was the photograph in when you found it?”

“I’ve already said that it was torn,” Kaito insists. “And I don’t know why!”

“Maybe it came that way?” Kiyo suggests. 

_Nonstop Debate_

“I found it whilst I was looking around the room,” Kaito says. “And I found it the way it is now!”

“Liar,” Kokichi mutters under his breath.

“The photograph is rather suspicious,” Kiyo says. “It has the wrong talent on it.”

“That’s right, Shirogane signed the photograph but used the wrong talent!” Himiko cries. “Unless...she’s been lying about her talent the entire time!”

“Perhaps the photograph is an autograph of some sort?” Kirumi suggests. “Even if the talent is wrong on it, Shirogane probably was well known whether she was a cosplayer or a screenwriter.”

“So the photograph is an autograph?” Miu asks before one of her hands flop forwards. “Wait a second! What the fuck does this have to do with the trial?”

“We need to figure out if the photograph was torn by one of us or if it was really found that way,” Kiyo explains. 

“Well, it’s an autograph, right? Only Shirogane would be in the picture,” Miu says. “If that’s the case then the picture wasn’t torn by one of us!”

_Counter!_

“Actually, Iruma, I don’t think Shirogane was alone when the picture was taken,” Rantaro says and points at the photograph. “There’s actually a hand on Shirogane’s shoulder. Someone else had to have been with her when the photo was taken.”

“O-Oh,” Miu says as she twirls hair around her finger. “So I was wrong. How rare.”

“Whilst I was aware that there was a hand on Shirogane’s shoulder, I never really considered it to be that important,” Kiyo admits. “Although, there’s certainly no way to figure out who that hand belongs to.”

“Why is the hand important anyway?” Himiko asks. “Does it have anything to do with this trial?”

“Means Shirogane was working with someone else,” Kokichi speaks up. He clears his throat before continuing. “Because Shirogane really was the mastermind!”

“But that’s impossible,” Kiyo says. “If she really was the mastermind then this game would’ve stopped by now.”

Kokichi shakes his head before coughing into his hand. It takes him a couple of seconds to stop. “Nuh uh! Not if she was working with someone else. Even though she’s dead, the second mastermind can still run this game.”

“The thought of there being two masterminds...no, I don’t want to think about it,” Himiko admits. “It was hard enough believing that one of our friends has betrayed us. But two?!”

“Two traitors does seem excessive,” Kirumi agrees. 

“Wouldn’t the second mastermind try to keep Shirogane safe?” Maki says. “If there really is two masterminds then why did the second one let Shirogane die?”

“Maybe they were the one who pushed her,” Kokichi suggests. “They were probably ordered by Monokuma to remove Shirogane from the killing game because she had been doing such a bad job running it.”

“Ouma, what’s that supposed to mean?” Kiyo asks. 

Kokichi smacks his hands together. “Well, it’s obvious that Amami was supposed to die first out of all of us. The mastermind had set up a trap before hand for him to be killed. Instead, it was Kiibo who died first because he blew himself up. That’s strike one for our poor mastermind.”

Kaito shakes his head. “But…”

“Strike two would be the previous trial,” Kokichi continues as he wipes his forehead. “The entire trial was a mess from the start. The mastermind had to alter a crime scene because Akamatsu’s cause of death would’ve been too obvious otherwise. If we had found out how Akamatsu had died too quickly then that would’ve been super boring, right?”

“Ouma, are you okay?” Kirumi asks. “You’re looking rather pale.”

Kokichi ignores her. “The final strike the mastermind received was allowing themselves to be seen by Saihara the other night. Since Saihara had seen that they were wearing a skirt he was able to half the list of potential suspects. Now, it would’ve been boring if the mastermind was found too soon so Monokuma had to spice things up, riiight?”

“I have no idea what you’re on about!” Monokuma cheerfully answers. 

“So Monokuma forced one of us to become the new mastermind,” Kokichi finishes. “And the first task Monokuma gave them was eliminating the previous mastermind so Shirogane wouldn’t reveal anything to the rest of the group. It’s also highly possible Monokuma told the new mastermind to also get rid of all the threats in the group, one of them being poor Saihara.”

“So you’re saying it was the second mastermind who killed Shirogane?” Himiko asks with wide eyes. “T-Then who are they? You saw them, right?”

Kokichi shakes his head. “Wrong! The second mastermind is responsible for Shirogane’s death but they didn’t push her personally. They orchestrated Shirogane’s murder, so they planned it but they didn’t carry it out.”

“Whilst your reasoning is...elaborate,” Kirumi says. “How can we trust you? For all we know, you could just be telling us another lie.”

“Or he’s just trying to distract us,” Maki adds bitterly. 

“No,” Rantaro says. “I really do think he’s telling the truth.”

“You do?” Kaito looks bewildered. “But why? Amami, he’s clearly just trying to trick us all!”

“Of course I’m not!” Kokichi says with a giggle. He pulls a tablet from his pocket. “I found this whilst I was examining Shirogane’s body! I even cut my poor hands open on the glass whilst I was trying to get this!”

“No one cares,” Maki says. “Just show us what you want to show us so we can get on with the trial.”

“My pleasure!”

Kokichi turns the tablet on and shows it to everyone, proving that the tablet really did belong to Tsumugi. He then goes onto the map and zooms in on it.

“Ah! There’s a path on her map that's not on all of ours!” Himiko cries, jabbing her finger at the screen. 

“A little birdie told me that the path is totally real too,” Kokichi says as he winks. 

Kiyo puts a hand on his chin. “So Shirogane really was the mastermind…”

“Whoever killed her really was on the right track,” Maki says. “But unfortunately they killed the wrong person.”

“Tsk, that’s some bullshit!” Miu cries. “Who the fuck agreed to be the second mastermind anyway?”

“They have some fucking nerve,” Kaito says with a shudder. “Whoever they are, I won’t forgive them.”

“Now if only there was some way of knowing who was with Shirogane when the photo was taken!” Kokichi sighs dramatically. “Then we’d be able to end the killing game right away!”

“We wouldn’t even have to finish this trial,” Himiko says hopefully. “We’d all be able to go home!”

“Well,” Kokichi says expectantly. “Does anyone want to cough up? We really could end this game right now, you know?”

“Now hold on a second,” Kiyo says. “Just because Shirogane had her picture taken with someone that doesn’t mean that the person is the second mastermind. You said it yourself that Monokuma asked someone else here to take over the role.”

“That’s correct,” Kirumi agrees. “The second person in the picture could be someone we don’t know. As previously mentioned, the photograph could just be an autograph, meaning the second person could just be a fan.”

Kaito eagerly nods. “That’s right! I get that there might be a second mastermind but I don’t want to believe that the second person in the photograph is evil!”

“And we don’t even know who the second dumbass is anyway,” Miu says. 

Himiko droops. “And I thought we all were really going to go home there for a second.”

“We can all go home soon,” Rantaro says. “But unfortunately we really do need to finish this class trial. Even if Shirogane was the mastermind we need to find her killer.”

“Even though she doesn’t deserve it,” Maki hisses. 

“That plain, shitty bitch!” Miu cries. “She’s the one responsible for everyone dying so far! If she was alive right now I’d fucking kill her myself!”

“But she’s not,” Himiko says. “And she was also betrayed by Monokuma.”

“That doesn’t change anything,” Kirumi says with a frown. 

“She got what she deserved,” Kiyo admits. “It’s just such a shame that she wasn’t the person I thought she was. I never would’ve expected a quiet girl like Shirogane to be responsible for so many deaths.”

“So what now?” Miu asks as she puts a hand on her hip. “All we’ve managed to figure out is that we’ve got a second shitty mastermind to deal with. That still doesn’t tell us who actually pushed Shirogane.”

“It would be foolish of them to push Shirogane themselves,” Kirumi says. “So as Ouma said, they perhaps tricked someone else into doing it.”

“Maybe that’s why four people ended up going upstairs,” Rantaro says. “The mastermind had planned that to happen. If they had planned for Shirogane to be pushed then they needed as many people upstairs as possible so there would be an interesting class trial.”

“Learning from Shirogane’s mistakes, huh?” Kokichi murmurs. “This mastermind sure is a lot more smarter.”

“W-Wait a minute!” Himiko cries. “Then does that mean the mastermind planned for Amami and I to go downstairs so we were both out of the way?”

“Yumeno, whatever do you mean?” Kiyo asks. 

Himiko pushes her hat out of her face. “Amami said that we had to go downstairs to get batteries for Iruma’s earpiece!”

“Iruma?” Kaito blinks. 

“Y-You all better not be looking at me!” Miu whimpers. “I-I had no fucking clue everything was going to go to shit!”

“But it is suspicious,” Kiyo says. “That you asked two people to leave moments before the exisal attack happened.”

“It was a coincidence!” Miu insists. 

“Well?” Maki snaps. “Are you the new mastermind?”

“No!” Miu wails. “You’ve all got it fucking wrong!” She rubs her ear with a shaky hand. 

“If that is the case then why are you shaking?” Kirumi asks. “Iruma, you have to tell us the truth!”

“I am!” Miu insists. “I’m really not the mastermind!”

Despite Miu’s pleas, it seems that no one believes her. Once again, Miu’s podium is pushed to the front of the room. 

Rantaro crosses his arms. Can he really let Miu be accused like this? He knows she has to be lying about something because he knows she’s been using the earpiece throughout the investigation. She had no reason to actually ask him to leave the room for batteries. However, he doesn’t want to believe that she’s the mastermind. They’ve bonded so much over the last couple of days. 

If he wants to get Miu out of this mess then he’s going to have to turn a lie into the truth.

_Nonstop debate!_

“It is suspicious that you got Amami and Yumeno to leave the room only moments before the exisal attack,” Kiyo says.

“It really was just a coincidence!” Miu insists. 

“How did you know that the exisals were going to attack?” Maki asks. 

“I-It was Shirogane who summoned them, not me!” Miu answers. 

“The two of you were working together,” Kaito says. “You got my sidekick killed!”

“I really didn’t!” Miu sniffs. 

“I just don’t understand why you wanted Amami and I to leave the room,” Himiko says. “It was you who asked us to leave, right? Did you plan Shirogane’s and Saihara’s deaths together with the mastermind!?”

_Perjury!_

“Actually, Yumeno, I think there’s been some sort of miscommunication,” Rantaro says. 

“Huh?” Himiko blinks. 

Rantaro rubs the back of his head with an awkward smile. “It wasn’t Iruma who asked us to go to her lab for batteries. I actually noticed that one of the headsets inside the computer room wasn’t working and thought that perhaps it had ran out of batteries.”

“You did?” Himiko asks quietly. 

“Yeah. I asked Iruma if it needed anymore batteries and she told me which ones I would need from her lab. I, ah, might’ve accidentally mixed up the headsets and her earpiece together since they’re so similar,” Rantaro explains. “I’m really sorry.”

“O-Oh,” Himiko fumbles with her hat. “So that means we were looking for batteries for the headsets, not Iruma’s earpiece?”

“That’s right.”

“So it wasn’t even Iruma who asked Amami and Yumeno to leave the room in the first place,” Kiyo summarises. “Rather, it was Amami who left the room with Yumeno to fix one of the headsets.”

Kokichi’s eyes twinkle under the soft lighting in the room. “But why was Amami so desperate the fix the headset anyway, hmm?”

“I just didn’t want Kaito to put on a headset that was running out of battery,” Rantaro explains. “Who knows what would’ve happened if he was in the virtual world and his headset ran out of batteries.”

“He might’ve been trapped,” Maki realises. “And no one would’ve known what to do…”

“Man, that would’ve sucked!” Kaito sighs in relief. “Thanks for having my back, bro!”

“It’s no problem.”

Miu huffs as she joins the circle once more. “S-See! Now you all don’t have any fucking reason to think I’m the mastermind! I was only telling Amami which batteries he needed to get!”

“Ah, my apologies,” Kirumi says with a bow. “I hope you can forgive us all, Iruma.”

“Maybe if you all got down on you knees and beg!”

“But was it really a coincidence that Amami and Yumeno left the room together to get batteries?” Kokichi suddenly asks. “If it isn’t Iruma that’s the mastermind then it has to be-”

“It’s not possible for Amami to be the mastermind,” Kiyo answers. “Shirogane had targeted him first, remember? It’s clear she wanted him out of the way for whatever reason.”

“Yeah! I trust Rantaro!” Kaito continues. “He’s my bro!”

“So it really was luck that Amami and I were out of the way when the exisals attacked,” Himiko concludes. 

“Well…” Rantaro crosses his arms. “Kaito did show Saihara and I the picture of Shirogane. We were planning on confronting her together but I also wanted to get the batteries first. Who was it again who wanted to see the photograph first?”

“Shirogane,” Kirumi says. “Oh…”

“Is it that Shirogane had purposefully waited until two people had left the room to trigger the chain of events that had happened?” Kiyo proposes. 

“But why would she wait until two people had left the room?” Maki asks. “That doesn’t make any sense.”

“Perhaps Shirogane knew she was going to die,” Kirumi says. “And wanted us all to be able to figure out who her killer is. She tried to make the list of suspects as small as possible by waiting for people to leave the room.”

“But didn’t we just figure out that it was Shirogane herself who brought Iruma upstairs?” Himiko asks. “Why would she add another person to the suspect list?”

“Maybe she wanted to give someone an alibi,” Kokichi suggests quietly. 

“But who?!” Miu asks. 

“None of this is helping us find out who Shirogane’s killer is,” Maki cuts in. “It doesn’t matter if Shirogane had known she was going to die. It’s not like she’s here to tell us who the killer is.”

“And our suspect list still remains the same,” Kiyo sighs. “Myself, Iruma, Harukawa and Ouma.”

“Or we could consider that Shirogane really did just jump,” Maki pushes. “If she really had known she was going to die then maybe she jumped to get it over with. We’re all presuming that someone had killed her yet no one is coming forward to say so.”

“Ouma knows what happened to her,” Himiko says. “But he’s not saying anything.”

“That’s because Ouma enjoys fun class trials,” Kiyo says. “Perhaps he isn’t saying anything because he knows that Shirogane jumped. He just doesn’t want this class trial to end on a boring note.”

“Hmm, interesting theory,” Kokichi responds. “But you’re wrong!”

“I’d rather accept that Shirogane jumped rather than someone killing her,” Kaito snaps. “Then no one else has to die!”

“But it’s unrealistic!” Miu cries. “That bitch had to of dragged me upstairs for a reason, right?!”

“As upset as you are, Iruma, it would be nice to think that no one has to be punished,” Kirumi says. “Perhaps Shirogane really did jump.”

“But that doesn’t sound right,” Rantaro replies. “If Shirogane was the mastermind then she would want someone to get punished!”

“Oh, what’s this?” Monokuma asks with a shrill laugh. “Are we split on an opinion? Well, if that really is the case then there’s only one thing we can do about that!”

Rantaro frowns as Monokuma pulls out his giant key. He hears the sound of music start up and loosely holds onto the front of his podium as they start to rise into the air. He’s once again at the front of his line and he notices that only Kokichi and Miu are on his side this time around. He also notices the portraits of Kaede, Shuichi, Kiibo and Tsumugi on his side. 

On the opposing team is Kaito, Maki, Himiko, Kiyo and Kirumi. The portraits of Angie, Tenko, Gonta and Ryoma are on the other side. 

_Split Opinion!_

**Did Tsumugi jump out of the window?**

“Shirogane was scared what Monokuma was going to do to her after replacing her so she jumped from the window,” Maki says. 

“Iruma!”

“Why the fuck would Shirogane be scared? She should’ve known the consequences!”

“Consequences or not, perhaps Shirogane didn't want the new mastermind to succeed,” Kiyo responds. 

“Ouma!”

“That can’t be right. Shirogane would want this game to succeed!”

“Maybe Shirogane jumped so more people would be punished later on?” Himiko suggests. 

“I’ll answer this! That’s wrong. The mastermind would want there to be a punishment for each trial, including this one.”

“She probably got angry with Monokuma for replacing her so jumped as revenge!” Kaito says.

“Iruma!”

“If she jumped as revenge then why did she push Saihara out of the room? The new mastermind and Shirogane were probably working together until she died!”

“There is still a chance Shirogane had no idea what was going to happen. Perhaps she jumped to escape her own punishment for killing Saihara?” Kirumi offers. 

“I’ll answer this! Shirogane probably wouldn’t have minded being punished. She was the one who started this killing game after all. There’s no doubt about it! She had to have been pushed!”

Everyone in the room continues to argue with each other. Rantaro winces every time he has to argue back. He doesn’t want to have to send another person to their doom but if he wants the rest of the group to survive then he has to do this. He has to complete this class trial!

“This is our answer!”

The podium drift back towards the ground before forming into a large circle. With a heavy sigh, Rantaro closes his eyes. 

“I know this isn’t what you all want to hear but I just think it’s unreasonable to think that Shirogane jumped out of that window,” Rantaro says. “I don’t want to believe it either but we need to start considering that one of us really did push her.”

Himiko bites her lip. “Then that means we’d have to vote for someone. I don’t want anyone else to die!”

“I understand that Yumeno but we really should start thinking about trying to end this trial soon,” Kirumi says. She briefly glances over at Maki. “Some people here are injured and I would prefer it if we can end this trial so I can look after them.”

“That’s right,” Kaito agrees gruffly. “The sooner we end this then the sooner I can look after Maki and…”

“Save your sidekick?” Kokichi finishes softly. 

“Quit screwing around,” Kaito snaps. “He’s...dead. Shuichi is dead.”

Kiyo’s eyes flutter shut. “Indeed. As horrible as the thought is, there’s no way we can bring him back.”

“That’s right,” Maki says gently. “Now all we can do is finish this trial. I want to rest and I would also like Momota to rest too.”

“Maki, I’m fine-”

“No you’re not,” Maki retorts. “Momota, please stop lying to yourself. You need to rest. When we do find a way to escape you need to be healthy so you’ll be able to leave.”

Kaito crosses his arms. “I doubt that’s going to happen, Maki. Hah...I wasn’t even strong enough to save my own sidekick when he needed me. I was so close too. He was in front of me the whole time yet I let him down because of my stupid body failing me.”

“Kaito, you can’t keep blaming yourself,” Rantaro tells him, sending the astronaut a worried look. “Saihara wouldn’t want you to.”

“But I should’ve tried harder!” Kaito insists. “He needed me! I should’ve just skipped this trial to save him! I’m not going to last longer anyway.”

“Momota, don’t say that!” Maki snaps. “You are going to live. You have to!”

“Maki, it’s the truth,” Kaito says. “Of course I want to live but what right do have standing here when I let my sidekick down? I promised I would look after him yet I let him die.”

“You’ve still…” Maki fiddles with her sleeves. “You’ve still got me, Momota.”

Kaito laughs humorlessly. “I know that, Maki. But what if I let you down too?”

“You won’t,” Maki says fiercely. “I promise.”

“Maki?” Kaito murmurs. 

“I’ll end this trial for you,” Maki tells him. “I won’t let you down ever again, Momota. You just need to trust me.”

“O-Of course I trust you!” Kaito promises. “I’ll back you all the way if you need me to!”

Maki tries to hide the colour that forms in her cheeks by turning her head away. “Then we need to continue this trial. The sooner we can end it, the better.”

“If that’s the case then all we can do is interrogate everyone who went upstairs again,” Kirumi says. 

“Well I would like to confirm that I most definitely stayed inside of Shirogane’s lab,” Kiyo says. “I realise my alibi is flimsy at best but it is also the truth. I was more concerned for my life than pushing Shirogane out of a window.”

“I know I was kidnapped by Shirogane but it wasn’t me!” Miu cries. “She was the one who pushed me onto the floor! I had no time to get up before I heard a loud crash. She must’ve been pushed whilst I was getting up from the floor.”

“It wasn’t me who pushed her,” Maki says. “I stayed inside of Saihara’s lab the entire time. It was only Ouma who left it.”

“Well, Ouma?” Himiko turns to the small male. “Who did it?”

“Ouma, are you okay?” Rantaro asks. 

Kokichi has his head resting on his arms once more. His hands continue to curl and uncurl, as if it was too painful to keep his hands curled up for too long. The smaller male doesn’t answer Rantaro and keeps silent. 

“Ouma, we asked you a question,” Kiyo says and waits expectantly. 

“Is he okay?” Kirumi asks no one in particular. “Perhaps he’s sick?”

“He’s probably just messing around,” Maki concludes. “He just wants to delay the inevitable.”

Himiko leans her head in closer and narrows her eyes. “He sounds like he’s in pain!”

As she says this the room goes quiet. It only takes a couple of moments before the room is filled with painful wheezing. 

“Ouma?” Rantaro finds himself repeating. 

“H-Hey, quit screwing around!” Kaito says, although he’s starting to sound concerned himself. 

“Why isn’t he saying anything?” Miu asks. “What’s happening?”

“Maybe he isn’t messing around this time,” Kirumi murmurs with a worried tone. “Ouma, what’s wrong?”

Finally, Kokichi lifts up his head. He looks awful. His face is sticky with sweat, his hair sticking to his forehead and cheeks. His eyes are clearly unfocused as he looks around the room. He grips onto his podium to keep himself steady and winces when his hand comes into contact with the wood. 

“I think…” Kokichi says. “We should change the subject.”

“Why? So you can lie about another thing?” Maki snaps. “Just tell us what you saw upstairs and then you can go back to being quiet.”

“Oh?” Kokichi’s eyes shine. “Is that how you wanna play, Harukawa? _Fine!_ ”

Himiko flinches as Kokichi steadies himself. 

“Since Harukawa is so desperate to end this trial then maybe I can consider talking,” Kokichi finally says.

“What do you mean?” Rantaro asks. “Ouma, what happened?”

Kokichi lets out a body shaking cough before wiping his mouth. “Ugh, gross. Whatever, everyone shut up so I can start confessing.”

“We’re waiting,” Kiyo pushes. 

Kokichi rolls his eyes. “S-So it wasn’t Shinguji who pushed Shirogane.”

“Do you promise?” Himiko asks. 

“Cross my heart and hope to die,” Kokichi answers. “That just leaves us with Harukawa, Iruma and myself. N-Now, who out of us three seems the most likely to push Shirogane I wonder?”

“You, of course,” Kaito answers. “Just hurry it up, will you?”

“Hmm,” Kokichi responds. He puts a hand to his head. “ _Shit…_ ”

Himiko reaches out and holds Kokichi’s arm as he starts to wobble. “W-What’s happening?”

“Probably the stress of killing Shirogane is getting to him,” Maki says. “He’s clearly scared now that he’s been backed into a corner.”

“Scared?” Kokichi laughs. “I have nothing to be scared about! After all, it wasn’t me who pushed Shirogane.”

“Of course it was yo-” Kaito is cut off.

“And it wasn’t me who stabbed Harukawa either!”

Kokichi coughs into his hand. 

“What?” Rantaro finds himself saying. 

Maki’s eyes narrow. “That’s a lie.”

“You stabbed yourself,” Kokichi continues fearlessly. “And pinned it on me. How else were you going to get everyone else to turn against me completely?”

“You’re delusional!” Maki responds. “Something is clearly wrong with you right now. You’re not thinking straight.”

“I am not delusional,” Kokichi snaps, surprising the entire room. 

“I’m afraid I don’t understand,” Kirumi admits. “What has this got to do with Shirogane’s murder?”

“ _Everything!_ ” Kokichi answers before his eyes go wide. 

Himiko yelps as the smaller male suddenly crumples. She opens her arms wide and catches him as he falls. Together, they both fall to the floor. Himiko winces as she manages to sit up, holding Kokichi to her chest as he rests on her lap. 

“Ouma?” Himiko says softly as she starts to shake him. “H-Hey, wake up!”

Rantaro ignores Monokuma’s yells to stay at his podium to rush over to Himiko and Kokichi. He ignores the pain of his knees colliding with the floor as he kneels down next to them both. He puts a hand on Kokichi’s forehead and bites his lip with worry.

“He’s burning up,” Rantaro says in a daze.

“What caused this to happen?” Kirumi asks, looking ready to rush over to the trio herself. The only thing that’s stopping her is Monokuma’s intimidating gaze. 

Rantaro picks up one of Kokichi’s wrists and puts his fingers against them. “He’s alive at least. But why did he…”

“Great, now we won’t be able to get a confession from him,” Maki sighs. “Clearly he fainted because he knows we’ve got him figured out.”

“So you think it was Ouma who pushed Shirogane out of the window?” Kiyo asks. 

“It was,” Maki says. “I saw him.”

“Then why didn’t you say anything until now?” Himiko asks. “Why wait this long?!”

Maki eyes Kokichi. “I was waiting for him to confess.”

“But what about all the shit he was just spouting about before?” Kaito questions. “Why would he say that Maki stabbed herself? Why would she even want to do that to herself?”

“Because he wants to pin everything onto me,” Maki says. “But I won’t let him.”

“Still,” Kaito says with a frown. “That was a pretty extreme reaction from him. Maybe it wasn’t fear that caused him to faint.”

“He hasn’t been looking so good for the entire trial,” Kirumi adds. “Perhaps he’s been feeling unwell from the start.”

Kiyo nods. “He has dozed off a couple of times.”

“Is the little shit okay?” Miu asks, hugging herself. 

“He won’t wake up,” Himiko says frantically. “Ouma, wake up!”

“Let him sleep,” Maki says. “It just means he won’t be awake when he gets punished. I personally think that we’re being too kind letting him sleep but the sooner we vote for him, the sooner we can stop this trial.”

“Hey, what’s this?”

Across the floor, something shines. 

Kaito goes to pick it up.

“Don’t!”

“H-Huh?!” Kaito startles, falling backwards into a podium. 

Rantaro frowns as he leans in closer towards Himiko and Kokichi, ready to use his body as a shield at any given chance. 

“That was a rather explosive reaction,” Kiyo says. “What’s wrong, Harukawa?”

Maki opens and closes her mouth, her eyes going from the group to the item on the floor. 

It's the bloody knife that Kokichi had hidden inside of his sleeve. It must’ve fallen out when Kokichi had fainted. 

“I didn’t want Momota to cut himself on it,” Maki says quickly, rushing over to the knife and picking it up herself. 

Kaito blinks. “I would’ve just picked it up by the handle.”

“Well,” Maki pauses. “I don’t want you to get hurt.”

“Isn’t the knife you were stabbed with?” Kirumi suddenly asks. 

“What was Ouma doing with it?” Himiko wonders. “Why didn’t he register it as evidence?”

“Because he said it was his trump card,” Rantaro answers. He closes his eyes. Shit. From the looks of things, it’s becoming more and more obvious who the killer is and from the reaction someone gave from seeing the knife, it couldn’t be any more obvious who pushed Shirogane. 

But why?

“His trump card?” Kirumi repeats. “But the knife has nothing to do with Shirogane.”

“It has nothing to do with Shirogane,” Rantaro agrees. “But it is still relevant to the case.”

“The knife Harukawa was stabbed with?” Kaito repeats. “How’s that relevant?”

Rantaro grimaces, holding both Himiko and Kokichi closer to him. 

“Because Harukawa is the culprit we’ve all been looking for.”


	26. Chapter 26

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry this took so long to post. I found that I had no motivation to write this chapter for some reason. Writing it was rather difficult and it even got to a point I had to rewrite it because I didn't like what I had originally written. 
> 
> I'm not sure how many people are going to like this chapter? Maybe that's why I was so reluctant to write it. I do hope people enjoy this though. I put a lot of effort into writing this chapter and I did find it really difficult to write so I'm hoping isn't too bad.

He can feel all the eyes in the room go onto him as he utters those words. 

“Harukawa...killed Shirogane?” Himiko quietly asks, hugging Kokichi closer to her. “But I don’t understand. Why would she-”

“It wasn’t me,” Maki responds. Her eyebrows press together into a deep frown. “Amami, why are you accusing me of killing her? I thought that we were...friends.”

“Yeah, there’s no way it was Maki!” Kaito adds. “I believe in her!”

“Why do you think Harukawa is the killer?” Kirumi asks. Her face is scrunched up as if she’s not sure what to believe right now. 

Rantaro swallows. He still has his arms wrapped around the two smaller students. He drums his fingers against Himiko’s shoulder. “It’s not that I want Harukawa to be the killer but it would explain so much.”

“Ouma had the entire trial to say something,” Maki tells him. “If he really wanted to end the trial right away then he would’ve accused me from the start. It’s not my fault that he decided to wait until now to actually say something.”

“But why did he faint?” Kiyo ponders. “There must be a reason why he became ill so suddenly. I agree that he hasn’t looked well for a lot of the trial but I can’t think why he wouldn’t tell anyone.”

There has to be a reason. Rantaro thinks back to the start of the trial where Kokichi had so boldly waited by the elevator doors. He wanted this trial to last as long as possible. Had he known something was going to happen to him. If that really is the case then why? Why would Kokichi allow himself to hurt for so long?

Maki returns to her stand, still holding the bloody blade in her hand. “I’m sorry I didn’t say anything until now but I am telling the truth. Ouma was the one who pushed Shirogane. I watched him.”

“But why wait until now to say anything?” Miu asks. “You’ve had all fucking trial to say something. I thought you’d be the first person to want this trial to end as soon as possible. After all, you had something pretty sharp shoved into you.”

“I wanted him to confess,” Maki says. “To everything. I don’t care that I’m hurt. Besides, he would’ve just denied the accusation and tried to pin me as the culprit. I needed there to be some discussion first before saying my own testimony.”

Kirumi looks down at her hands. “If that is the case, Harukawa, then why did Ouma imply that you were the culprit? He even went as far to say that he never stabbed you and that it was you who stabbed yourself.” She clasps her hands together. “He didn’t sound like he was lying either.”

“It seems like he had known he was going to faint,” Kiyo realises. “So he waited for as long as possible before admitting the truth. After all, he can’t say anything whilst unconscious.”

“Hold up!” Kaito slams his curled fist down onto his podium. “You don't actually think that Maki really is the culprit, right? If she said she didn’t do it then she didn’t do it!”

Himiko’s face drops. “But Ouma was the only witness who saw who pushed Shirogane. If he said that it was Harukawa then maybe it really was-”

“I’m a witness too,” Maki says. “Shirogane was pushed from the window outside of Saihara’s lab. I saw everything.”

“And you waited until now to say that?” Kiyo says dryly. “No offence, Harukawa, but why should we trust you? You’ve been withholding precious information for the entirety of this trial.”

“Ouma did sound certain it was you,” Himiko adds.

Miu adjusts her goggles. “Yeah! Ouma was helping me up from the floor when Shirogane was pushed. I doubt he had the time to help me up and pushed Shirogane out of the window!”

“He has two hands,” Maki says. “All he needed to do was give her a little push-”

“The glass upstairs is thick,” Kirumi counters. “He would’ve needed at least two hands to push her out of the window. Ouma is rather small so I doubt he would’ve been able to use one hand to push her.”

Maki scowls. “It’s not impossible.”

“You did say you witnessed Ouma push Shirogane,” Kiyo says. “How about you tell us how he pushed her then?”

“Well,” Maki says as she crosses her hands. “He used two hands. I was just making a point.”

“But Iruma just said Ouma was helping her up when she heard the crash,” Rantaro reminds her. “Which means at least one of his hands had to have been occupied with helping her up in the first place.”

Maki pauses. “He did kick her too.”

“Oh really?” Kiyo responds.

“He took her ankles out first before pushing her. She must’ve landed heavily on the glass and fell through,” Maki says. “But even if that is the case, Ouma is the one responsible for Shirogane’s death.”

“Even if that is the case why the hell did the two of you go downstairs together anyway?” Miu asks. “Did you both fuck or some shit?”

“Ouma...had something to tell me,” Maki says. “Or more specifically, he threatened me.”

“Ouma threatened you?” Kirumi raises an eyebrow. “Harukawa, you must realise that does sound rather strange coming from you. You’re the last person who would let yourself be threatened by Ouma.”

“He said he’d hurt Momota,” Maki bitterly says. “I can’t take any chances when it comes to Momota.”

“What did he say?” Kaito asks with wide eyes. 

Maki scrunches up her hands. “He said that he’d get you killed, that he proposed an idea to Monokuma to get you killed and that Monokuma had agreed. I wasn’t going to let that happened so I agreed to meet him in the gym. He told me he had to grab something first. It must’ve been to get this knife.”

“Is this the truth?” Kirumi asks. 

“I don’t remember any proposals,” Monokuma abruptly says. “If I did then I would’ve gotten by best suit ready!”

“That’s what he told me,” Maki insists. 

“Oh really?” Monokuma replies and tilts his head. “How interesting!”

“Wouldn’t you have been suspicious of what Ouma had to do before going to the gym?” Kiyo presses. “Surely you aren’t stupid enough to wait there unharmed.”

“Ouma doesn’t scare me,” Maki responds firmly.

“But wait a second,” Himiko says. “Why would Ouma threaten you after Shirogane had been pushed? Wouldn’t he wait until after this trial?”

“I don’t know what his intentions were,” Maki says. “I don’t understand him. No one understands him.”

“Whilst that may be true…” Kirumi quietly replies. “It is too big of a coincidence that you decide to tell us all of this right now. Ouma isn’t even awake to defend himself.”

“He doesn’t need to defend himself!” Kaito insists. “If Maki says that he’s guilty then he has to be guilty!”

“But Amami just said Harukawa is the culprit,” Miu retorts. “And it’s probably more fucking likely that she pushed Shirogane. She always gets off on thinking about killing the mastermind!” 

“Everyone did think Shirogane was the mastermind,” Kiyo muses. “And if Ouma truly was just helping Iruma up from the floor then it’s more likely he didn’t do it.”

“It wasn’t me,” Maki tells him. “Are you forgetting that you don’t even have an alibi? What right do you have to lecture me right now?”

“Ouma confirmed it wasn’t me,” Kiyo answers. “And we have also confirmed that Ouma had witnessed Shirogane’s death. It is rather unlikely at this point that Iruma and Ouma are both lying. You on the other hand, Harukawa, are a dangerous individual. I can see you being the culprit of this case.”

Maki grips onto the front of her podium tightly. “Do you want to die?”

“It’s not fair that you’re saying all of this whilst Ouma isn’t awake,” Himiko says. “I don’t like him but I don’t want to gang up on him when he can’t even defend himself. W-We can’t continue the trial like this.”

“Oh yes you can!” Monokuma shouts. “No one is leaving this room until someone is punished! Besides, I have a feeling this trial is going to end very soon.”

“Ugh…” Himiko shudders. “But we haven’t even confirmed a culprit yet! C’mon, Ouma. Wake up!”

“I have a feeling he isn’t going to wake up any time soon,” Rantaro tells her softly. 

“Why?”

Rantaro chooses to keep quiet.

Maki isn’t saying anything. As much as Rantaro doesn’t want to accept this, she has to be the killer. 

It makes him feel sick. He thought that the two of them were friends. Why would she do something like this? Should he have not trusted her from the start? Is this what he gets for trying to befriend the Ultimate Assassin?

Even so, he wants to live.

_Nonstop debate!_

“I am not the killer,” Maki repeats herself. 

“She’s right!” Kaito agrees.

“Where is your proof that she’s not the killer?” Kiyo asks.

“I’ve already explained myself. I have nothing to hide,” Maki says. 

“But you’ve been acting so shifty,” Himiko says. “First you don’t say anything and then you wait until Ouma faints to tell us all what happened upstairs!”

“Is it that Harukawa is involved with Ouma fainting?” Kirumi suggests.

_That’s the truth. It has to be._

_But the truth...telling the truth would be too easy._

_Only a lie will end this._

_Perjury!_

“I’m not sure if Harukawa was involved with Ouma fainting,” Rantaro says. “But there is something I would like to bring up.”

“Oh?” Miu raises an eyebrow.

“I thought that maybe Ouma had been poisoned,” Rantaro says as he puts his hand back on Kokichi’s forehead. “It would’ve made sense. There’s no other explanation to why he’s suddenly become so ill.”

“Like I said, it’s probably the stress,” Maki tells him.

Rantaro frowns. “But I do think someone else in this room has been poisoned.”

“E-Eh?” Kaito throws his hands up. “Who? Why?!”

“Well, during the investigation I found a bottle inside of Saihara’s lab,” Rantaro explains. “And the only people who have been inside of the lab throughout the investigation were Harukawa, Tojo and Momota. I’m not sure who brought it up though.”

“That would be me,” Kirumi says. “But I don’t understand, what does the bottle of-”

He hopes she trusts him. “Inside of the lab was a bottle of poison. There’s been a mistake when it was submitted for the list of evidence.”

“What?” Maki snaps her head in Rantaro’s direction. “What do you think you’re-”

“I found it,” Rantaro admits. “And at the time I really did think it was a bottle of antidote. However, I think I was mistaken. 

“This is ridiculous,” Maki snaps. “Tojo, tell them that it was a bottle of antidote. I told her to bring it up to me because I thought Ouma had poisoned the knife.”

Kirumi opens and closes her mouth. “I…” She sends Rantaro a bewildered look. He feels rotten for making her lie like this but this is the only way to end this trial. “Y-Yes…”

“See, I told you-” Maki is cut off.

“Amami is correct,” Kirumi says, although she looks rather uncertain. “Harukawa asked me to bring poison up for her.”

“You _what_?!” Kaito looks from Maki, to Kirumi and then back to Maki. “Maki, why did you ask her to bring up poison?!”

“I didn’t!” Maki argues. “Why would I ask for poison?!”

“Because you killed Shirogane,” Rantaro tells her. “And you didn’t want to face Monokuma’s punishment. There must’ve been a small part of you that knew that you wouldn’t make it through this trial so you poisoned yourself before Monokuma could punish you.”

Maki’s eyes darken. “Amami, I don’t know what the hell is wrong with you but I think for your own safety you should stop. I’m only warning you because I thought we were friends.”

“I thought we were friends too,” Rantaro responds. “But it looks like I was wrong.”

“H-Hey! That’s kinda harsh,” Kaito quickly says. “Why can’t you trust Maki? She promised she would stop-”

“Then why did poison herself?” Rantaro counters. “If she’s innocent then why did she?”

Kaito doesn’t seem to have an answer.

“I didn’t poison myself,” Maki responds harshly. “If I really wanted to die then I would’ve let the stab wound finish me.”

“Then if you didn’t poison yourself then what was the bottle doing up in the lab?” Rantaro asks. “Say if there really was a bottle of antidote up there then why? There’s no way you would’ve known if the knife was poisoned.”

“I’m an assassin,” Maki says coolly. “Of course I’d know when a knife is poisoned.”

“So you’re confirming that the knife is poisoned?” Rantaro asks.

“It was,” Maki says. “So I had Tojo bring me up some antidote because I’m not a fool who wants to die.”

“Right,” Rantaro says before pulling out his final piece of evidence. “Then if that’s the case then would you like to explain this?”

He pulls out the uniform he found in Kokichi’s bathroom.

“Oh?” Kiyo leans in closer to take a look at it. “Did Ouma change before the class trial?”

“More importantly, why is there a hole in his uniform?” Kirumi asks.

Himiko pulls the uniform towards her face. “And why is there so much blood?! I know that we saw his uniform earlier and that it was bloody but…”

“We’d presumed his uniform had smeared blood because Ouma had stabbed Harukawa,” Rantaro says. “But if you think about it, it’s impossible. Ouma would’ve had to have removed the knife from Harukawa in order to get himself so bloody.”

“But wasn’t Harukawa holding the knife inside of her?” Miu asks.

“That’s right,” Himiko says quietly. “She said she didn’t want to remove the knife because she needed a way to seal it up first.”

“Ouma still could’ve gotten blood on him,” Maki cuts in. “It’s not impossible to-”

“You’re right, it’s not impossible,” Rantaro says. “Because he was attacked by you first. That’s how he got so much blood on his clothes.”

Maki shakes her head. “You’re wrong. You’ve got it all wrong.”

He’s not wrong. He can feel it.

Not once has he ever wanted to be more wrong in his life. 

_Argument Armament! Start!_

“I never attacked Ouma.”

“He was the one who attacked me.”

“There’s no way to explain that hole in his uniform.”

“He went to check out Shirogane’s body, right?”

“Ouma has even told us that he injured himself whilst searching her body.”

“Any injuries he has at this point are his own fault.”

**“I have nothing to do with injuring Ouma or killing Shirogane!”**

_Break!_

“Harukawa,” Rantaro says before closing his mouth. He can feel his will slowly crumble. He doesn’t want to do this. “Harukawa...please just tell us the truth.”

“I’ve already told you all the truth,” Maki tells him. “Ouma stabbed me. I don’t know what the hell he did after he left the gym.”

“But Ouma was covered in blood when he left the gym,” Himiko says. “I saw him. You did too, Amami!”

Maki shakes her head. “That’s impossible-”

“But it’s the truth!” Himiko insists. “Harukawa, just tell us all what happened! Do you want us all to die?”

“That’s ironic coming from the girl who hid behind Chabashira for almost an entire trial,” Maki snaps. “Weren’t you the one who was willing to let us all die just because Chabashira wanted you to leave? Unlike you I don’t lie to get myself out of trouble.”

Himiko’s breath catches in her throat and she uses a free hand to pull her hat over her face. “T-That’s not true…”

“Wow, you really are a stone cold bitch,” Miu says, putting a hand on her hip. 

“That was unnecessarily mean,” Kirumi agrees with a frown. “Is it that you’re lashing out at everyone because you’ve been backed into a corner?”

“It’s because you’re treating her like some sort of criminal!” Kaito bellows. “No one is giving her a chance!”

“Momota, she’s the Ultimate Assassin,” Kiyo points out. “She is a criminal whether you like it or not. You can’t seriously believe that she wouldn’t take someone out to leave.”

“That’s right,” Kaito says. “Because I believe in her.”

“Give up with your white knight bullshit!” Miu retorts. “Just because you’re about to lose your final fuck buddy doesn’t mean that you can kill the rest of us! Unlike you, I don’t want to die defending someone who’ll probably kill us all the first chance she gets!”

“Even if Harukawa and Momota refuse to believe that Harukawa killed Shirogane, that’s only two votes,” Kiyo explains. “If the rest of do vote for Harukawa then she’ll be picked as the culprit.”

“That’s right,” Kirumi says. “Harukawa, it would be more beneficial if you just surrender now. There’s no point dragging this out any longer than it has to.”

“Ouma also needs help,” Rantaro adds. “You poisoned him, right? The hole in his uniform proves that he’s been cut with the knife at least once.”

“And he was holding his hands to himself when he was leaving the gym,” Himiko says. “Does that mean his hands had been cut too when Harukawa and Ouma were fighting?”

“That does seem more likely than Ouma’s story of him cutting his hands on the glass,” Kiyo says. “Amami, perhaps you should unwrap his hands. If the cuts are long and identical then we’ll have our answer.”

“Well, is there anything you want to confess before we fucking expose you?” Miu asks Maki bitterly. 

Maki shakes her head and stares at Kokichi’s hands.

Rantaro carefully unwraps the bandages around Kokichi’s hands. It’s clear that Kokichi had put them on rather hastily, they’re messy and uneven. He finds himself unwrapping the bandages rather quickly and stares at the two hands.

There’s deep cuts on both palms. Equal in size, equal in depth.

“It almost looks like he was pushing a knife away from him,” Kiyo observes with a low voice. “How interesting.”

“He still could’ve just cut himself on the glass outside!” Kaito insists. “Maybe he just fell onto it and cut his hands?”

“Oh, and coincidentally have two cuts the exact same on both hands?” Miu raises an eyebrow. “Fucking unlikely!”

“But!” Kaito clenches his fist, turning his entire hand white. “Maki didn’t...she wouldn’t…”

“Harukawa is being awfully silent right now,” Kiyo tells the astronaut. “What does that tell you.”

Kaito snaps his head over in Maki’s direction. “H-Hey, Maki!” A trickle of sweat runs down Kaito’s face. “Tell them they’re wrong. All of this is just one big misunderstanding, right?”

“Momota,” Kirumi says, her voice going soft. “Maybe it’s time you realised that-”

“C’mon, Maki!” Kaito demands. “They’ll believe you if you just tell them the truth! You’ve got nothing to hide!”

Maki shakes her head. “But…”

“I believe in you!” Kaito tells her and smiles. “Just prove to them that they’re wro-”

“Wait until he dies before we vote.”

Kaito’s face drops. “Huh?”

“I’ll only admit to my guilt once he’s gone,” Maki compromises. “But I refuse to die when I know he’s the true mastermind. We can all just wait until he’s gone. After that, Monokuma will no longer have the mastermind working for him.”

Himiko’s grip on Kokichi gets stronger. “But he isn’t the mastermind, right?”

“He is!” Maki loudly barks back. “I should’ve taken him out ages ago. It’s because of the stupid motive that I never got the chance.”

“Ouma was with you the last couple of days,” Kiyo says. “You would’ve had plenty of time to-”

“I would’ve been a fool to kill Ouma whilst we were stuck together as partners,” Maki responds. “So I’ve been waiting. But then Saihara ended up saying that the mastermind was a girl and…”

“You pushed Shirogane because we all figured out she was the mastermind,” Kirumi says. “But when the game continued, you realised you killed the wrong person.”

Maki’s palms hit heavily against her podium. “I should’ve just followed my gut instinct. I should’ve pushed Ouma, not Shirogane.”

“You shouldn’t of pushed anyone!” Rantaro tells her and runs a hand through his hair. “Harukawa, we never needed to kill the mastermind! We just needed to capture them!”

“Oh, so Akamatsu tries to kill the mastermind and we all think she’s some sort of hero?” Maki says with a scowl. “I didn’t kill Shirogane for any selfish reasons, I did it for all of us. If we just wait for the poison to kill Ouma then I can take out Monokuma and-”

“Woah, woah, woah!” Monokuma angrily jumps onto his feet. “There will be no harming the head teacher!”

Kirumi looks alarmed. “We can’t just let Ouma die either. You could be wrong.”

“I’m _not_ wrong.”

“You’ve been wrong like what, twice?” Miu says. “First Akamatsu, then Shirogane and now you’re trying to kill Ouma! I know he can be a brat but he can’t be the fucking mastermind!”

“It would be too obvious for Ouma to be the mastermind,” Kiyo agrees. “However, this trial was never about finding the mastermind. This trial was about finding who killed Shirogane.”

Maki puts her foot down. “I refuse to start the vote until he’s dead!”

“We’re finishing this trial now,” Kirumi insists firmly. “Harukawa, even if you never had bad intentions, you did kill Shirogane. I refuse to let you kill us all so you can cause the death of an innocent person.”

“Monokuma, we want to start the vote,” Kiyo decisively says. 

“I see!” Monokuma’s mood instantly flips. “Very well then-”

“No,” Maki whispers before raising her voice. “You’re all making a mistake!”

“We all want to live!” Himiko argues.

Maki takes a step back, looking around the room in disbelief. “Are you all so stupid to believe that Ouma isn’t the mastermind?! If it isn’t him then who else would be so cruel to agree to work with Monokuma after witnessing what this killing game does to all of us!”

“Well-” Miu gets cut off instantly.

“I’m doing everyone a favour!” Maki promises. “I...I don’t want this game to continue anymore. I promised myself I would just keep myself out of the way. I never wanted to become close to any of you. I never asked to fall in... _I don’t want any of this!_ ”

She grips the knife tightly. 

“Harukawa?” Rantaro hears himself say. 

“This is the only way!” Maki cries as she grips the knife with both of her hands. “This is the only way I can save _him_!”

Her eyes lock onto Kokichi as she dashes towards him, the knife held professionally in her hands. She runs towards him with no hesitation, as if she’s finally realised that she’s lost. However, it’s painfully obvious that she refuses to go down without dragging down someone she so desperately hopes is the mastermind with her. 

Maki’s footsteps echo throughout the room. She’s fast. 

“Of course she’s fast,” Rantaro bitterly thinks as he puts himself in front of both Himiko and Kokichi without a second thought. “She’s the Ultimate Assassin.”

He can hear Himiko scream as she presses herself against Kokichi, who despite all the noise, hasn’t woken up yet. He’s still alive, his chest is still slowly moving up and down. The colour has been sucked from his face however, leaving Kokichi with skin that looks like chalk and bags under his eyes that match the colour of his hair. 

The room quickly descends into chaos. 

Miu screams, not knowing what is going on and cries to her earpiece.

Kiyo looks alarmed but seems at a loss on what to do, his golden eyes flickering around the room as he takes a step backwards. 

Kirumi shrieks at Rantaro, or perhaps she shrieks for him. Surely she knows that putting yourself between a desperate assassin and her target is high on the list of the most stupidest things someone could possibly do right now. 

And Kaito…

His expression is unreadable as he catches Maki’s wrist, his fingers clenching tightly around her. Kaito’s hand trembles as he forces Maki to stop. 

She still tries to push her way through. If Rantaro tilts his head up from where he’s sitting, he would be able to see that the blade of the knife is only inches away from him. However, he does not tilt up his head. He doesn’t want reality to hit him yet. He wants to live in an oblivious ignorance, a world where Maki isn’t hellbent on killing Kokichi. A world where everyone is still alive and waking up anywhere but here. 

Maki grits her teeth as she starts to crack under Kaito’s grip. “Momota, let me go!”

Kaito looks lost as he turns his head away and makes a small sound of disappointment. It seems he doesn’t want to accept what is happening either. He looks like he wants to be a million miles away from here, up in space and hiding within the stars. 

“Momota,” Maki repeats with a voice that sounds suspiciously wet. “Momota, _please_.”

When Kaito does finally drop her wrist, Maki pulls it towards her and starts to rub it. Her skin is an angry red and the mark that is starting to grow is evidence that this isn’t what Kaito wants.

She looks at Kaito and then at the three who are huddled on the floor. Maki easily ignores Rantaro and Himiko and shoots Kokichi a glare that would’ve stopped anyone in their tracks if they were awake to witness it. 

Maki’s body language suggests that she’s ready to lunge again, ready to pounce for her prey. She twirls the knife again in her hands and lifts her foot off the ground, ready to take a step forward.

“Shit, shit, shit…” Kaito groans as he runs his hands through his hair, efficiently messing it up. “Fucking...is this a joke?!”

The moment Maki’s attention is turned away from the trio on the floor, Rantaro whisks Himiko and Kokichi away himself. He pulls Himiko up from the floor and with Himiko’s help, gets Kokichi on his back. Somewhere in the process, Kiyo, Kirumi and Miu arrive by his side. Miu presses herself against Rantaro’s side whilst Kirumi stares at the knife in Maki’s hands. Kiyo puts himself at the front of the group. 

“Momota,” Maki quietly says. “You’re going to hurt yourself-”

“Will you just shut up!” Kaito explodes. “For once will you just shut up about me! Maki, Monokuma is going to kill you!”

Maki confidently shakes her head. “He won’t. I refuse to let Monokuma hurt me.”

“You refuse?!” Kaito laughs humorlessly. “How the hell is that going to help you?!”

“I’m fast,” Maki says. “He won’t be able to catch me.”

“But what about everyone else?” Kaito asks. “Do you want them to get hurt if Monokuma chases after you? Maki, just for one second will you please just think about the consequences?”

“I already have,” Maki confirms and takes a step closer. “Momota, for a while now I’ve considered you my new mission. I promised myself that I wouldn’t let anything bad happen to you and my top priority is to get you out of here alive.”

Kaito’s mouth drops. “Maki, surely you know that’s not going to happen?”

“Shut up,” Maki abruptly snaps. “It’s not. If I can get you out of here now then I can find you some help. We can leave together, Momota. Just let me kill Ouma so I can save you.”

“You want me to let you kill someone just for me?” Kaito looks at Maki as if she’s grown a second head. “Maki, you do realise how insane you sound right now?! There’s no way in hell I’m going to force my sidekick to do that!”

“Momota, you could never force me to do anything,” Maki says with impossible tenderness. “My actions are my own and no one else’s. It’s like I’ve said, I’ve already thought about the consequences. So, please. Let me save you, Momota.”

Kaito shakes his head in disbelief as he takes a step backwards. Then, another step backwards. He moves like a man who has lost his entire world. He opens and closes his mouth, trying to say something. Anything. 

“You can’t,” Kaito decides to say. He’s quiet, much quieter than anyone is used to. “Maki, you can’t.”

“Yes I-”

“You can’t!” Kaito repeats angrily with a heavier confidence. “Shit, Maki. I’m dying! I’m dying and there’s nothing anyone can do to save me! No you, not anyone else in this room, not anyone!”

“Momota, don’t say that-”

“It’s the truth!” Kaito shouts. He seems surprised by his own words and falters. “It’s...the truth. It’s always been the truth, hasn’t it?”

Maki throws the knife down on the floor as her eyes turn into slits. She grabs Kaito’s shoulders and shakes him. “Are you even listening to yourself? What was it you called me when you dragged me outside to train? You called me a coward! What right do you have to call me that when you’re the biggest coward to exist? Don’t you dare say that no one can save you when you haven’t even tried to let yourself be saved!”

Kaito knocks Maki’s hands from his shoulders. “Saving me would mean someone has to die!”

“Then so be it!” Maki retorts. “We’re living in a reality where we must kill to survive, Momota!”

“That’s wrong! There has to be a better way to live!” Kaito argues as he squeezes Maki’s shoulders. He rests his forehead on the top of her head. He vaguely registers that Maki doesn’t have a particular scent. “There has to be a reality where no one else has to die. I want to live in that reality with you, Maki. I want to live with everyone.”

“Then let me help you,” Maki desperately says, her words catching in her throat as she tilts her head up so her glassy eyes can look at Kaito. “I can save you, Momota. Let me end this killing game for you.”

Kaito helplessly shakes his head as he pulls away. “Sorry, Maki. No can do. I can’t make my sidekick do something like that.”

“But-”

“Just…” Kaito says as he bends down to pick up the knife himself. “Live for me, okay? That’s what I want.”

“Momota, what are you doing?” Maki asks as she reaches for the knife. “Give that back! You’re going to hurt yourself!”

“If there’s anyone who should end this killing game, it’s me,” Kaito tightly says. “It’s unfair to let anyone else try to when everyone else has so much to live for.”

“Momota, what are you planning to do?” Kirumi frets as she holds her hands to her chest. “You must know that I cannot allow you to harm anyone in this room.”

“You’re not going to kill Ouma, are you?” Rantaro asks as he adjusts his arms. Kokichi is light enough that Rantaro doesn’t feel any strain when holding him. However, he can’t help but imagine the weight getting lighter and lighter until Kokichi is invisible, faded like a ghost. 

Kaito raises an eyebrow. “What? No way! There’s only one thing in this room responsible for all of this!”

He turns to knife towards Monokuma. The edge of the blade shines dangerously. 

“Eh?!” Monokuma sweats. “You’re not thinking of harming your lovely head teacher, are you?”

“He’s not!” Maki insists as she attempts to swipe the knife away from Kaito. “Momota, give that to me!”

Kaito pushes her away. Maybe if Maki wasn’t injured, she would’ve stayed on her feet. However, Maki hisses as she crumples to the floor and puts a hand to her stomach. She feels butterflies flap their wings furiously inside of her and she lets out a piercing scream as she watches Kaito run towards Monokuma. 

Monokuma seems alarmed as he hops up and starts to press buttons frantically.

“Well, this isn’t what I expected!” Monokuma quickly says as his paws slam down on buttons at random. “But it seems I’m going to have to take everyone’s final argument as their decision! Congratulations, you’re all correct! The one who killed Shirogane was Maki Harukawa!”

It’s a truth everyone figured out a while back. However, it doesn’t stop everyone from wincing at the extra weight their hearts carry and drowning in the same misery that always follows them around. 

The room turns cold as the chain that has already dragged two people to their doom once again flies into the room and even after everything, Rantaro can’t help but shout. 

“Harukawa, watch out!”

Maki’s eyes go wide as she rolls out of the way, barely dodging the chain that misses her. Instead, her mouth opens in terror as the chain instead latches itself around Kaito’s neck. She’s pulling herself up from the floor, ignoring the blood that’s starting to trickle from her newly opened wound in favour of chasing after Kaito.

The astronaut gasps as he drops the knife and his hands reach for the metal around his neck, scratching at it helplessly. 

“Let’s give it everything we’ve got!” Monokuma announces as he presses one last button. “It’s punishment time!”

“ _No!_ ” Maki cries out as she runs after Kaito, her hand stretched out in a desperate attempt to save him. She runs through the set of doors Kaito has been forced through and ignores the sound they make when they snap shut. 

**Game Over**

**Maki Harukawa has been found guilty**

**Time for punishment!**

Maki arrives in a room that has poor lighting. In her frantic state she barely notices the abandoned toys that litter the floor messily. She looks around but fails to spot Kaito and winces loudly when her wound starts to protest at her quick movements. She lets out a sob of frustration and is prepared to tear the room apart when a light flickers on.

The light reveals a door and Maki manages to swallow her cry to instead open the door. When she does, she’s met with a hallway that stretches on and on and on. This doesn’t faze her however and Maki runs, her heart slamming against her chest as she trips. She uses the wall as a crutch to stand back up and despite the agony she’s in, continues to run. 

She fails to notice the freshly made scratches along the wall. Maki is in too much pain to see the many doors inside of the hallway. She barely registers the sound of children crying. Each cry and scream coming from behind different doors. She doubts that even if she wasn’t so occupied with finding Kaito, she would actually go in and examine the rooms. 

Her ears do perk up when she hears a deep voice yelling and she instantly realises that it’s Kaito. He’s still alive and waiting for her. This gives her the strength to continue and she grits her teeth as she pushes herself from the wall, leaving bloody hand prints in her wake. 

A blood trail follows Maki as she nears the end of the hallway. The further she goes, the louder the crying gets behind the doors that are starting to rattle. Perhaps if this was anyone else, the rattling would scare anyone else. Instead, Maki is sinking in the idea that she can’t save Kaito in time. It leaves her breathless and for once in her life, Maki is afraid. 

The crying turns into harsh laughter as Maki reaches a door at the end of the hallway. She freezes as her hand reaches the door handle. She swallows her fears as she opens the door and sags in relief when she spots Kaito. He’s on the floor, hunched over and coughing but very much alive. 

She should be happy that she’s found him. Instead, her happiness is short lived when she spots a growing shadow on the wall. Maki turns around and spots a Monokuma dressed all in black and holding a knife. This doesn’t scare her. She kicks the Monokuma and takes its knife.

However, the moment the Monokuma falls, all the doors in the hallway open at once. An impossible amount on Monokumas dart down the hallways, eyes wide in a hurry to eliminate their target. Maki’s eyes go wide as she looks from Kaito and the Monokumas. If she was on her own then she knows she would be able to escape but she refuses to leave Kaito. 

Maki fights the Monokumas one by one. It’s easy at first. Maki is able to knock the Monokuma’s away with ease. She starts to struggle when the Monokumas start to fight her in pairs and then in groups. She hisses when a knife licks her leg and cries out when a knife catches the wound on her stomach. Maki is pushing the Monokumas off her when she spots a couple of them aim for Kaito, who is still hunched over on the floor, spitting up blood. 

The last thing that Maki ever does is throw herself in front of Kaito without hesitation. She dies hoping Kaito can live long enough to leave the killing game. 

\---

Witnessing the punishment was like receiving a slap in the face. 

Even Monokuma is silent as Kaito cradles Maki to his chest, his arms sliding in between the countless number of knives that are sticking out of her body. He buries his face in her hair and his hands turn white as he clutches her. 

“Momota,” Himiko says quietly. 

Kaito ignores her, ignores everyone as reality slowly starts to hit him. 

“Geez,” Monokuma says as he rubs the back of his head. “You all didn’t even get the chance to vote! Sorry everyone! I know you all must be so disappointed. After all, choosing who gets to live or die is so fun!”

“Monokuma, shut up,” Kirumi snaps as her head whips in his direction. “You truly are a vile piece of work.”

“Hey, it’s not my fault you all willingly take part in these class trials!” Monokuma points out. “It’s all of you who chose who gets to die. I’m not the one who sacrifices my friends to live!”

“That’s bullshit!” Miu argues. “We only do these fucking class trials because you said you’d kill us otherwise!”

Monokuma grins lazily. “Even so, you were all pretty determined to get Harukawa killed.”

“No one wanted her to die,” Rantaro answers. 

“It didn’t seem that way to me!” Monokuma mockingly sing songs. “Oh, would you look at the time! It’s a brand new day! I better hurry and go and restock the poison cabinet!”

Monokuma and Monodam both leave the room together, granting the students the small mercy of peace. 

“We must hurry,” Kirumi says and gestures to Kokichi. “We have no idea how long he has left. Thankfully, I remember the antidote that Harukawa had requested so we won’t have to waste too much time figuring out which antidote to give him.”

Rantaro can feel Kokichi burning up on his back. Kokichi’s forehead is pressed against Rantaro’s shoulder and he can feel the heat even through his shirt. He nods but hesitates when he’s near the elevator doors. 

Kaito is still on the floor and from the looks of things, it might take a while before he decides to let Maki go. 

“You need to hurry,” Kiyo urges Rantaro. “I’ll stay down here and try to coax him upstairs. I highly doubt it would be healthy for Momota to stay down here too long.”

“I’ll stay too,” Himiko adds. “I know what it’s like to lose someone you really like.”

Miu squirms. “I’d stay but I’d be no fucking help. I also want to help with the little shit. He might be an asshole but he did help me when I was pushed.”

“Very well,” Kirumi says. “But we all must hurry. Amami, will you take him to his room? I’ll be going upstairs to grab the antidote.”

“Actually, I’ll take him to my room.” Rantaro thinks of all of Kokichi’s private notes and the state his room is in. He thinks Kokichi wouldn’t want people seeing what his room looks like. “It’s on the bottom floor so it’ll be quicker to get there.”

“I see,” Kirumi agrees. “I’ll be as quick as I can.”

Miu holds onto Rantaro’s arm as he takes her and Kokichi to the dormitories. She’s being uncharacteristically silent and Rantaro probably wouldn’t know she was next to him if it wasn’t the loud sound of her high heels. 

She helps him hold doors open and closes Rantaro’s bedroom door so Rantaro can concentrate with putting Kokichi to bed. 

“He should’ve said something sooner,” Miu finally says. “You know, during the trial. I’m not sure how many of us would’ve believed him but I would’ve.”

Rantaro blinks at her. “I had no idea the two of you were so close.”

“Well,” Miu sniffs. “We’re not that close. I guess I’m fucking thankful that he made this earpiece for me. I had to beg him of course but in the end he still made it. I’m just glad I have it. I don’t trust anyone to help me around otherwise because then I would just be an easy target.”

“Oh,” Rantaro says before clearing his throat. “How does the earpiece help you anyway? Who are you talking to?”

“Someone,” Miu answers, turning her head away. “They said it’s not safe to say their identity and Ouma said I couldn’t tell anyone either. Which makes sense, I guess. As long as they keep me safe then I’m happy.”

Rantaro hums as he adjusts the duvets over Kokichi. “Another thing, Iruma. Why did you lie about the batteries in your earpiece? It’s just a little too coincidental that you timed it so Yumeno and I were out of the room when the exisal attack happened.”

Miu throws her hands up in the air. “M-Maybe it was just a fucking coincidence!”

“But you never needed the batteries,” Rantaro points out. “Your earpiece is working fine.”

Miu huffs. “Of course it’s working fine! An Ultimate Inventor made it!”

“H-Hey, there’s no need to be so defensive.”

“Then stop interrogating me!” Miu snaps. “We’ve already been through so much today. Can’t we save this for another time or something?”

Rantaro clears his throat. “Right, of course. Sorry, I didn’t realise that I was pushing you so much.”

“Well, we’ve just finished a class trial,” Miu says. “I’m not in the mood to debate anymore, got it?

Rantaro distracts himself from the conversation by going into his bathroom and finding a hand towel. He runs it under the water for a couple of seconds before heading back into the bedroom and carefully putting it on top of Kokichi’s head. He probably isn’t helping much but he’d feel useless if he sat around and did nothing.

Thankfully, Kirumi arrives only moments later with a full bottle in her hands. He rushes over to the bed and quickly sits Kokichi up, resting him against her as she unscrews the lid. 

“This should save him,” Kirumi tells the two as she tilts the bottle and pours the contents into the small male. Her eyes narrow as she pours the antidote slowly, not wanting to choke Kokichi. 

Miu crosses her arms. “Well? How is he?”

“It may take a couple of moments for the antidote to kick in,” Kirumi answers. “I can’t guarantee that we’ve saved him in time but there’s nothing more we can do but wait.”

“Ugh! Fine!”

Rantaro pulls up a chair and puts it next to the bed. “I’ll watch over him for the night. You both should go back to your rooms and rest. It’s...been a long day.”

“I guess so,” Miu says. “We don’t have to follow Monokuma’s stupid partner rule anymore either. I can finally sleep in my own bed.”

Rantaro and Kirumi watch as she leaves the room and put her hand to her ear. 

“Tojo, you don’t have to stay here,” Rantaro tells her as she makes herself comfortable on the couch. She gestures for him to join her and he does after giving Kokichi one last stare. 

Kirumi adjusts her skirts. “Ouma should hopefully be fine. He seems like the type who won’t go down without a fight.” She winces. “Sorry, those were a poor choice of words.”

“It’s the truth,” Rantaro says, although he feels wrong for saying so. “It’s going to be hard to accept but Harukawa really did kill Shirogane and try to kill Ouma too.”

“You don’t have to accept it right away,” Kirumi reminds him. “I know that you and Harukawa were friends. However, you mustn’t blame yourself for her actions either. She knew what she was doing when she pushed Shirogane.”

“I just can’t believe so much happened in one day,” Rantaro says. “Both Saihara and Shirogane are gone and Shirogane was actually the mastermind.” He leans backwards and frowns, looking up at the ceiling. “Kaito has lost all of his sidekicks too. Realising that Harukawa was the killer must’ve crushed him.”

“He even tried to take Monokuma out,” Kirumi adds solemnly. “He was so desperate to keep Harukawa alive.”

“I wish she just thought things through more,” Rantaro sighs. “She must’ve known that deep down, Kaito wouldn't have wanted her to do all of this. I wish she did something different, like concentrate on getting Saihara back with Kaito. Maybe if she did then he’d…”

“We can’t dwell on what ifs,” Kirumi says and squeezes his shoulder gently. “Your mind will wander into dark places if you do that. What happened to everyone today was horrible but we all must focus on the living. Right now, Ouma is going to need you. Momota is going to need you to, whether he realises it or not. He may have lost his sidekicks but he still has you, his ‘bro’, if I’m correct?”

“I just hope he forgives me,” Rantaro admits. “I was the one who backed Harukawa into a corner. It’s just, if I didn't, then she would’ve gotten us all killed. I don’t care if it’s selfish but I want to leave this place alive. There’s only seven of us left now and we no longer have the luxury of just waiting for Monokuma’s next motive. If Harukawa was right about one thing it’s that Kaito doesn’t have long left. I want to find a way out for him.”

“I’ll help,” Kirumi quickly offers. “After all, the more people who help, the better.”

Rantaro stops looking at the ceiling to meet Kirumi’s eyes with his own. He gives her a small smile. “Thanks, Tojo.”

“You have nothing to thank me for,” Kirumi says. “After all, I would also like to leave this place too.”

She rests his head on his shoulder and the two end up falling asleep together, leaning on each other like two fitted puzzle pieces. 

\---

Rantaro, however, doesn’t stay asleep for long. He’s woken up by a thump. He carefully lowers Kirumi onto the couch so she doesn’t fall off it and goes to investigate. 

Despite the room only being lit up by the light from a lamp, Rantaro easily spots Kokichi on the floor, rubbing his head. 

“Ouma!” Rantaro whispers in relief. “You’re awake!”

“So I am,” Kokichi responds as he attempts to pull himself up, using the support from the bed. 

Rantaro helps him up straight away and despite Kokichi’s protests, firmly pushes his shoulders down so Kokichi has to lie back onto the bed. 

“How do you feel?”

Kokichi snorts. “Like I’ve been poisoned.”

“Ouma, you should’ve said something earlier,” Rantaro says. “Why didn’t you say anything during the trial? We could’ve tried to help if you had known you’d been poisoned.”

“Do you really think that anyone would’ve believed me?” Kokichi asks with a raised eyebrow. “I would’ve just been blamed for everything if I tried to convince everyone that Harukawa had hurt me. It was a lot easier to just let the poison effect me so everyone would’ve been forced to acknowledge the truth.”

“You could’ve died,” Rantaro weakly says. “What if Monokuma decided not to restock the poison cabinet?”

Kokichi shrugged. “It’s not like there was anything else that would’ve saved me. Harukawa had already drank most of the antidote. What was left over from her bottle wouldn’t have been enough to save me.”

Rantaro really should lecture Kokichi but he looks so exhausted.

“Why were you getting out of bed anyway?” Rantaro asks. 

“Thirsty,” Kokichi answers. 

So Rantaro gets Kokichi a cup of water and Kokichi downs it before Rantaro even has the chance to stop him. 

“If Tojo had seen you do that then she would’ve lectured you for hours,” Rantaro says with a sigh, taking the now empty cup away from Kokichi.

“Oh well,” Kokichi says and offers a very fake smile. “So I’m guessing Harukawa got punished.”

“Yeah…”

Kokichi is quiet as he rolls onto his back. “Poor Momota. He has no sidekicks left.”

“Ouma,” Rantaro says. “Please don’t try to annoy Kaito. He already feels bad enough now that he’s lost Harukawa. Just leave him be from now on. I don’t think he’s up to your teasing anymore.”

“You’re making him sound like an old man,” Kokichi says. “But fine. I wasn’t planning on it anyway. I have my own plans anyway.”

“Just don’t push yourself. You’re still weak,” Rantaro reminds him.

Kokichi rolls his eyes. “Yeah, yeah. You worry too much, Ran-chan.”

“I have plenty of things to be worried about,” Rantaro says.

“What, like ending this killing game?” Kokichi asks. “Don’t even bother. How many of us have tried to do that already? I wouldn’t know what to do if my poor Ran-chan died because he became the next idiot to try and end the killing game.”

“But we have to try-”

“No you don’t,” Kokichi says as his eyes flutter shut. “I don’t want to talk anymore. You’re giving me a headache.”

“Oh, right.” Rantaro backs away from the bed. “I’ll check up on you in the morning.”

Kokichi doesn’t respond as he rolls onto his side. Rantaro guesses that Kokichi falls asleep rather quickly. 

Rantaro goes back to the couch and tries to fall asleep once more.

Is Kokichi right? Should he really just give up on finding a way to end the killing game?

Kokichi is right that so many people have died trying to many. Would it be worth it to just give up? But giving up would mean participating in the killing game and Rantaro doesn’t want that. 

Rantaro has a dreamless sleep and wakes up to the usual morning announcement.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I found Maki really difficult to write this chapter. I always found her difficult to understand as a character in the game. Do I like Maki? Of course. However, she did a lot of things in the game I never could understand. I do personally think she got away with a lot in the game, especially with trial 5. 
> 
> I never really knew what to do with Maki for my story. I knew I couldn't kill her off too early because she's such a major character. However, when planning my story I also knew she wasn't going to survive. In the game and in other stories I've read, she's also a big part of trial 5. I didn't want to have my 5th trial be something similar so my options were to end her story now or make her a survivor. My only worry is that her story was too rushed. I've tried to make it obvious that she cares for Kaito in my story. She loved him and when she realised that, she decided she would do anything for him.
> 
> That's what I was going for. I know the romance between Maki and Kaito can be seen as cliche but I do like the idea of them two being together, even though Kaito can be quite oblivious. I'm hoping I haven't ruined Maki's character development in my story too much but I wanted to give her a believable motive. Throughout my story, her main objective has changed quite a bit. First, she wanted to stay away from everyone. Then she wanted to take out the mastermind for Kaito. Finally, she realised what she really wanted was to keep Kaito safe and decided the only way to do that was to end the killing game as quickly as possible. 
> 
> Thank you all for reading. I'm rather excited to write the fifth part of the story. Trial 5 has always been my favourite trial in drv3 so I'm glad I'm finally going to be able to write it soon!


	27. Chapter 27

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I have reread this chapter a couple of times and I think I've fixed all of the mistakes? If I have missed any then I'm sorry :((
> 
> Important!!! I just really want to thank everyone who commented last chapter. I know I haven't responded to any of the comments and I feel bad but I really didn't know how to respond. I was so overwhelmed by the positive feedback and I was so happy that everyone actually liked the chapter and accepted my decision to kill Maki off when I did. I've read all the comments over and over again and I'm just so grateful! Please don't think I'm ignoring you all because I promise I'm not! I just didn't want to respond with just a 'thanks' since all those comments were so detailed and hhhh, thank you all so much!!! You all really did make my day! 
> 
> That being said, I also have another really SUPER important thing to say before anyone reads the chapter. This chapter is a lot more depressing than any of the other chapters. Please be careful when reading this chapter and remember to take breaks. Whilst nothing is outright said, there's heavy hints that some characters are extremely unhappy and don't want to be around anymore. 
> 
> Thank you for reading and I hope you all enjoy! Take care!

It seems that no one wants to get up after yesterday’s events. 

Rantaro knows that Kaito is back in his own room because he heard Kaito go inside of it earlier this morning. However, he hasn’t heard the door open again. Rantaro wonders how long Kaito will hide himself away until he’s ready to come back out. Maybe he won’t even come back out again. 

Kirumi is still fast asleep on the couch even though the morning announcement has already played. Rantaro finds this highly unusual because he knows Kirumi always wakes before everyone else so she can prepare breakfast for everyone. Perhaps yesterday affected her more than expected. 

Kokichi is awake. Rantaro has checked on him multiple times already this morning. However, it seems that Kokichi just doesn’t want to get up and every time Rantaro kneels down to speak to him, Kokichi rolls away in the opposite direction and throws a pillow over his head and squeezes. 

When he had ventured outside, he couldn’t find anyone. Himiko, Kiyo and Miu must all still be in their rooms too. 

Rantaro shivers as he sits down on the steps outside of the academy. It’s strange. He thinks back to a week or two ago, when there were sixteen of them. When Kaede would skip up the steps holding onto Shuichi’s hand. When Maki would hide herself behind her long hair as Kaito laughs. When Ryoma would try and hide the fond looks he would make when Gonta would talk about bugs. When Kiibo would follow Miu around like she was an actual Goddess. When Tenko and Angie would both be by Himiko’s side even when the mage didn’t want them there. 

He wonders what Tsumugi thought about every day. Did she even feel any remorse knowing that she had surrounded herself around people who would die for her own entertainment?

If he tilts his head, he can barely make out the portraits that are still outside. He wonders if he should put up three more portraits. Or two. Does Tsumugi really deserve to be cried over?

“Someone looks upset.”

Monokuma sits down next to him. Rantaro really should just get up and leave but he knows Monokuma will follow him no matter where he goes. Besides, he’s probably going to give him some new items so he can unlock even more areas of the academy. Although, he isn’t exactly too fussed. New rooms just remind him that people had to die so that they could open. 

“Eh? Not even a hello?” Monokuma continues. He kicks his legs a little. “How rude!”

“Can you just give me the prizes and leave?” Rantaro asks. “I don’t think anyone is in the mood to deal with you today.”

“You’re so needy,” Monokuma grumbles. He does, however, pull out two keys. “I am supposed to wait until everyone is together but from the looks of things I don’t think anyone is going to get out of bed today!”

“It’s pretty obvious why,” Rantaro snaps. “You’ve taken away so many people-”

“I’ve only taken away three people,” Monokuma corrects. “Hoshi, Chabashira and Harukawa. Everyone else who is dead didn’t die because of me!”

“Saihara died because of you,” Rantaro bitterly reminds him. “His death is on your hands, well, paws.”

Monokuma shakes his head. “Wrong! Shirogane was the cause of Saihara’s death! Then, Harukawa pushed her. Saihara would still be around if it wasn’t for Shirogane so you can stop trying to pin his death on me!”

Rantaro huffs. “Can I just have the keys already?”

“Fine!” Monokuma sighs and places the two keys onto Rantaro’s palms. “One of them is the real last key and the other one is the last real key! There are still some locked doors in the academy that they can be used on. Perhaps Momota will appreciate the keys the most, hmm?”

Rantaro stares at the keys. “And what’s that supposed to mean?”

Monokuma’s red eye twinkles. “Who knows!”

The keys don’t look too unusual. One of them just looks like any regular old key. The other one has a more sci-fi look to it and Rantaro thinks he already knows where it should go. He curls his fingers around the two keys as he stands up. Maybe he’ll manage to convince someone to come outside and investigate with him?

He knocks on each door in the dormitories one by one. He’s surprised when no one responds at his own door. Clearly Kokichi doesn’t want to do anything today but Kirumi? Rantaro thought she would be the first person to want to explore with him. Her lack of response leaves him feeling really disappointed. 

Kaito doesn’t respond either, which makes Rantaro’s stomach churn. He knows that he needed to end the trial to save Kokichi but Rantaro still feels bad that he had to back Maki into a corner. Despite everything, Rantaro really did consider her a friend. He just didn’t want to believe that she would’ve done something like she had. Killing Tsumugi was something Rantaro thought he understood but trying to kill Kokichi too? He knows Maki never liked him but he didn’t think she would actually try to take him out. 

Rantaro pauses for an extra moment outside of Kaito’s door before sighing and trying Kiyo’s door. He starts to feel frustrated when he doesn’t get a response. He can’t just let everyone hide in their rooms forever. That wouldn’t be healthy. 

However, he does finally get a response when he knocks on Himiko’s door. The mage opens the door and blinks up at him. It seems that she was in the middle of getting ready. Her hair is still a mess and clearly she hasn’t run a brush through it yet. 

“I heard you knocking,” Himiko says as she buttons up her jacket. “I didn’t really want to get up but then I’d be letting myself down.” She scrunches up her nose. “I don’t want to give up just yet. If I give up now then Tenko’s sacrifice…”

“Chabashira would understand if you weren’t happy all of the time,” Rantaro tells her. “But if you would like a distraction then I can help with that. Monokuma has just given me two keys so we can explore the academy if you would like? I don’t think anyone else is up to it now so it might just be me and you. Although, I haven’t tried Iruma yet.”

Himiko puts her hat on, opting to not brush her hair. At least her hat hides how messy it is. “A distraction would be nice,” she admits. “Maybe you’ll finally get to see your lab? Does that not excite you?”

“Not really,” Rantaro responds. “Quite frankly, I’m scared I’ll find something I don’t want to. Even though I know I’m the Ultimate Survivor, I have no idea how I managed to get that title. I woke up here with the same knowledge as everyone else. It’s just, sometimes I feel like I’m forgetting something really important.”

“You must be,” Himiko says with a nod. “But I don’t think you should worry too much. No one here remembers much about what happened before they woke up here. I mean, I do remember things about my family but it’s clear that I’ve forgotten something really important too. It’s all Monokuma’s fault. He must’ve done something to all of us before we woke up here.”

Rantaro remembers waking up at the academy. He woke up slumped on the floor in a hallway with grass tickling his wrists and weeds curling around his ankles. Also, a tablet on his lap with his name on it. The tablet claims that the note written on it was from Rantaro himself but he doubts it. Even Maki had said that the tablet was a trap. If no one had been killed before the time limit, Tsumugi was going to use Rantaro’s own curiosity against him and lure him into the library and…

He knows he did remember more than some other students. Perhaps something went wrong when Monokuma was meddling with their memories? Rantaro had woken up with the knowledge about the Ultimate Hunt whilst no one else did. However, after looking at a flashback light, everyone else did remember the Ultimate Hunt whilst Rantaro forgot all about it. 

Maybe it was all part of Monokuma’s plan? It’s obvious that he was supposed to be the first victim. Perhaps Monokuma left him with some extra memories on purpose? Maybe Monokuma wanted Rantaro to know a little more than everyone else just to make him seem more mysterious. Everyone is always wary of the mysterious guy. But then why would Monokuma also plan for Rantaro to die first? Shock value?

Kokichi had told him that he thinks everyone is being watched. Rantaro just doesn’t understand who is watching them all kill each other. It couldn’t be any random people, right? Who would be twisted enough to want a killing game to happen? There’s nothing entertaining about a killing game. 

“Hey!” Himiko claps her hands together. “Are we going to see if Iruma wants to come with us or not? I’m bored with just standing around.”

“Oh, right!” Rantaro briefly smiles at her. “Sorry!”

“You’re acting funny,” Himiko says as she narrows her eyes. “Is something wrong? Maybe we should just relax today if you’re not up to exploring. I know you and Harukawa were friends so…”

Rantaro shakes his head. “I want to explore, I promise. I’d feel restless just sitting around all day. Come on, maybe we can convince Iruma to join us?”

He knocks on Miu’s door and expectantly waits for an answer. For some reason, he can’t stand still. He plays with all the rings on his fingers, taps on the keys, kicks the floor with his feet. It’s like his body just doesn’t want to stay still. 

Even Himiko raises an eyebrow. “Are you sure you’re okay?”

“I’m not sure,” Rantaro truthfully admits. “I just have this feeling that something is going to happen.”

“Something is always going to happen here,” Himiko points out. “But you shouldn’t worry too much. If you’re worried about another murder happening then I don’t think that will happen. Everyone left really likes each other. Monokuma would have to give us a really extreme motive for one of us to actually snap.”

He silently agrees.

Miu doesn’t open up her door even after Rantaro and Himiko wait outside for a full five minutes. He sighs but he’s glad he’s got at least one person with him to explore the academy with. 

“It’s a little strange,” Himiko admits as Rantaro leads her outside and down the steps. He knows that there’s a keyhole near Miu’s lab. “When we all first woke up here, we had lots of groups. Now it’s just you and me.”

“The others will leave their rooms eventually,” Rantaro says. “Otherwise they’ll starve and I doubt Monokuma would let that happen.”

Himiko bites her lip. “Momota was really upset last night. Usually he’s always the one to cheer everyone up after a class trial but I don’t think he’s gonna leave his room for a while. It took Shinguji ages to convince him to let go of Harukawa. Momota got super angry when Monokuma eventually came down and forced him to leave.”

Rantaro winces as he puts the key into the keyhole. It fits perfectly.

Of course he feels guilty. He doesn’t want to think about how he had to back Maki into a corner. Maybe Shuichi had also always felt guilty for finding the truth? He did seem upset when he had to convince everyone that Ryoma was Gonta’s filler. 

“Maybe you should talk to him later,” Himiko suggests. “He must be feeling pretty lonely right now.”

“I know,” Rantaro says.

To the side, two large doors rumble before they open. Rantaro peers at the hallway that has opened up for them. 

“Wow!” Himiko’s eyes go wide. “I had no idea that this was here! What do you think it’s for?”

“We won’t know until we look around,” Rantaro answers.

He’s glad that he’s got Himiko with him. The two of them venture into the new area. It’s a rather peculiar area. The walls are bright with neon blue lights running along in lines. Rantaro wonders if Kiibo would’ve liked it here. The place does have somewhat of a robotic feeling to it. 

“Maybe this is where the mastermind’s lair is!” Himiko wildly suggests. “This place does have a creepy feeling to it. I almost feel like I’m intruding.”

“Monokuma wanted us to go in here,” Rantaro says as he dangles the key in front of her. “There’s no reason for him to punish us.”

“Oh yeah,” Himiko says. She rolls onto the tips of her toes and peers around. “This place does feel endless. Are we walking around in circles or something? I swear we’ve just been here before!”

Rantaro rubs his head. Perhaps she’s right. They haven’t found anything that stands out yet. All of the walls look the same, which is rather problematic.

“Maybe if we turn around,” Rantaro says as he’s met with more walls that look the same. He can’t help but feel stupid. “M-Maybe if we go this way?”

“Are we lost?” Himiko asks him with a pout. “We’ve only been inside for five minutes!”

“We can’t be lost,” Rantaro insists as they turn a corner. “Ah!”

They both finally stumble upon something different. Despite neither of them knowing what they’ve just found, the chance is welcome. Himiko runs up to the strange barrier and puts her hands on her hips.

“Great! We found somewhere else to go but we can’t even get inside!” Himiko huffs. 

Rantaro puts a hand on his chin and hums. “It seems that we’ve found an electric barrier or something. But why would Monokuma close off this area in particular?”

“Oh! Perhaps something super important is behind there!” Himiko suggests. “In that case, I really, really want to know what’s behind the door!”

Himiko marches up to the shutter but quickly runs to hide behind Rantaro when an alarm starts to blare out of some hidden speakers. The room goes from normal to red over and over again. 

“I-I didn’t even do anything!” Himiko whines as she stares at the shutter with accusing eyes. 

Rantaro grimaces. “Is there a way to turn the alarm off?”

His answer comes in the form of Monokuma, who angrily runs into the room.

“Hey! Who set off my alarm?!” Monokuma asks. “Move out of the way!”

He turns it off fairly quickly and thankfully the alarms turn off.

“What was that about?” Rantaro asks with a frown. “Is there something important behind the shutter?”

“Of course there is!” Monokuma says with a sigh. “Jeez! You all need to be more careful!”

“But why did the alarm go off when I went near the shutter?” Himiko asks.

“Oh! That would be because of the motion sensor alarm just above the shutter!” Monokuma pulls out something seemingly from thin air. “You’ll need this alarm remote to turn it off! If you go towards the sensor without turning off the system first then the alarm will go off!”

“You’re being awfully helpful,” Himiko grumbles darkly. “Is this some sort of trap!?”

“Why do you need an alarm here anyway?” Rantaro questions. 

Monokuma chuckles. “Because this place is super duper important! That’s why the security here is tighter than-”

“That doesn’t answer anything!” Himiko argues. 

“Anyway! Let me explain this electric barrier,” Monokuma says. 

“We weren’t asking about that!” Himiko cries. “Are you even listening to us?!”

“I’m on a tight schedule,” Monokuma answers. “Anyway, in order to turn off the electric barrier you will need to put in a fifty nine digit code in this very control panel that has been conveniently placed next to the shutter!”

“Fifty nine digit code?” Rantaro says with dread. “Are...Are you going to tell us what it is?”

“Of course! But I’ll only say it once,” Monokuma warns the two. “It’s 50393-”

“Slow down!” Himiko says as she shakes her hands. “S-Start from the beginning!”

Monokuma huffs. “You know what, how about I let you both in instead? This place isn’t even that important anymore.”

“Huh?” Rantaro blinks. “But-”

“Here! I’ll even give you the alarm remote!” Monokuma offers as he presses the remote into Rantaro’s hand. “Take good care of it!”

“His mood swings are rather extreme!” Himiko says as Monokuma punches in the fifty nine numbers into the control panel. “But I guess we’ve got the chance to explore whatever is behind the shutter.”

“I wonder what we’re going to find?” Rantaro ponders. “Monokuma did say that whatever is behind the shutter was important once.”

“There we go!” Monokuma says just as the electric barrier fizzles away. “This is just a one time offer however! If you decide to lock up the shutter again then there’s no way to get back inside. I suppose if either of you are desperate to kill someone then you could just lock someone inside!”

Rantaro ignores Monokuma as he starts to lift up the shutter. It’s rather heavy but he doubts that Himiko would be able to help much. Instead, she watches Monokuma leave with a sad expression. 

“I would never lock anyone in here,” Himiko murmurs. “Nasty bear…”

Himiko stands by his side when Rantaro finally gets the shutter open. He smacks his hands together and lets out a breath of air. 

“Man, that was heavy…”

Inside, Rantaro sees something he doesn’t expect.

“The Exisals?!” Rantaro breathes out as he takes a wary step back. “Perhaps we shouldn’t be here…”

“But they’re not turned on,” Himiko points out. “And one of them is missing!”

There’s four Exisals lined up in a row. There’s the blue one and the yellow one that look like they’re working fine. However, the pink and the red one look rather broken. The red one is missing a claw whilst the pink one is covered in bullet holes. 

“Where is the green one?” Rantaro wonders. 

“This is where the Exisals must be kept,” Himiko says. “I guess that’s what Monokuma meant by this place not being important anymore. There’s only one monokub left to use the Exisals.”

“I wonder if we can fit inside of them?” Rantaro says as he walks up to the yellow one. He examines it, looking for a way to climb inside.

Himiko’s eyes go wide. “Amami, are you seriously trying to get inside?!”

“Ah!” Rantaro presses something that opens the Exisal right up. It looks rather spacious inside, although he doubts it would be comfortable to sit inside. He climbs in and takes a seat. “Strange, I fit inside perfectly.”

“You do? But didn’t the monokubs use these? I thought that the seats would be a lot smaller considering how tiny they are.”

“Hmm.” Rantaro looks at the controls. There’s lots of different buttons and dials that he’s too scared to touch. He doesn’t want Monokuma to get angry at him. Instead he sits back and holds onto two handles. “These must be used to move the Exisal. But still, how come I can hold onto them just fine? The monokubs must’ve struggled to use these.”

“Perhaps we could ask Iruma?” Himiko suggests. “Maybe she can take one of these apart and figure out how they work?”

“We could lure her out of her room using these,” Rantaro agrees as he climbs out. “But I don’t want Monokuma to punish us for destroying his Exisals. They are still technically his and I doubt he would be happy if we took them apart.”

“Oh,” Himiko droops. “I sorta wanted to use one.”

“Maybe we could try to use them later,” Rantaro suggests. 

Himiko doesn’t look too hopeful. She hops over to the back of the room and narrows her eyes. 

“How come there’s a car wash?” Himiko asks.

“The monokubs probably washed the Exisals with it,” Rantaro explains. “Although it is rather strange that they would care so much about keeping their Exisals clean.”

“Hmm...Hey, what’s that!”

Himiko points up towards a nozzle of some sort. 

“It sort of smells,” Rantaro says. “Maybe it’s something to do with the Exisals?”

As he says that, something drips from the nozzle and lands by his feet. It’s obvious after a quick look that the nozzle is leaking paint. 

Himiko’s face drops as she turns away from the nozzle. 

“Yumeno? What’s wrong?”

“It’s nothing.”

“But-”

“Let’s examine this,” Himiko quickly says as she heads towards a large machine.

Rantaro raises an eyebrow but stands by her side regardless. They’re both in front of a machine of some sort. He guesses that it’s a press of some sort. Perhaps the monokubs put broken Exisal parts in the machine to reuse?”

“This machine won’t work if there’s someone alive under the press,” Himiko reads from a poster that’s been plastered to the side of the press. “That’s...oddly specific.”

“Maybe Monokuma doesn’t want a student to accidentally die if they end up under it,” Rantaro says. “After all, if a body were to be crushed then Monokuma probably won’t be able to identify it.”

“But then we won’t have to have a class trial,” Himiko says.

Rantaro turns away from the machine. “Maybe we should go and find where this other key fits for now…”

Himiko follows him out of the hangar, although Rantaro decides for now to just keep the door open for easy access. He knows Monokuma isn’t kind enough to just unlock the door for him again so it’s much easier to just keep it unlocked. Besides, he doubts anyone would want to break in right now.

“Hey, Amami?”

“Hmm?”

Himiko opens and closes her mouth as she turns her head. She looks up at the lazy clouds in the sky and the sun, well, fake sun. “Can I, um, tell you something? Well, it’s not actually telling but there’s something that has been bothering me and…”

She trails off with her hands behind her back. She’s looking anywhere but at him.

“What’s on your mind?”

She stops in front of the makeshift graves and looks at the portraits. Thankfully, they haven’t been meddled with. Himiko quietly makes her way over to Tenko’s portrait and adjusts the flowers in front of it. The entire time she doesn’t smile.

“It’s about Angie.”

Rantaro turns to Angie’s portrait. The artist is smiling peacefully. Although the picture is in black and white, Rantaro can easily imagine Angie’s eyes sparkling a bright blue, her extremely blond hair swaying from side to side and her yellow raincoat bouncing as Angie skips around the school without a care in the world. 

Himiko starts to sort out the yellow flowers in front of Angie’s grave.

“No one really had anything nice to say about her,” Himiko says. “But at the time we knew she wanted to do something really nasty and…” Himiko stops fumbling around with the flowers. “I was really angry with her but she never deserved to die. Angie only wanted to try and help us and I killed her.”

“Yumeno, it was an accident,” Rantaro reminds her. “No one hates you for-”

“You’re wrong!” Himiko insists suddenly. “So many people have already brought it up over and over again because they hate me! Deep down, everyone thinks it’s not fair that I survived and Angie and Tenko didn’t. Compared to them, I’m nothing. I’m lazy, I don’t help much in trials, I don’t have much of a family to go back to even if I do leave. Amami, I don’t want to keep living a lie anymore.”

“Yumeno…”

She sniffles and pulls the yellow flowers to her chest. A couple of petals fall to the floor. “It’s just not fair that I’m alive a-and they’re both dead. I said I would live for Tenko but is that what she really wanted? She died because of me! I was supposed to get punished by Monokuma but I’m still alive!” She squeezes the flowers. “A-And Angie was correct about Harukawa! She was dangerous and she killed someone. Maybe if I never overreacted then Momota would at least have one of his sidekicks with him.”

Tenko’s portrait continues to smile. Himiko looks at it with teary eyes.

“And if Tenko wasn’t so selfless then maybe she would be with you here instead. Even if Harukawa was still around, Tenko was strong enough to fight her off. It’s because I’m still alive that everything went wrong!” Himiko tells him, or perhaps she’s telling the portraits at this point. “There’s not many of us left now and everyone who is left is really sad. Amami, I don’t know what to do anymore.”

Himiko finally turns to face him. Her hat has been pushed back so Rantaro can see how distraught she is. 

“Hey…” He quickly rushes to help wipe the tears from her cheeks. “Come here.”

She easily pushes herself against his chest, wailing as she grabs his shirt and presses her face against it. The yellow flowers tumble to the floor, petals scattering everywhere. 

Rantaro has no words, he really doesn’t. He wishes that there’s something he could say to make her feel better right now but there really isn’t. Telling her that everything will be okay would just be lying and that would leave a sour taste in his mouth. Instead, he holds her as she sobs until his shirt is wet. 

His eyes feel wet too.

\---

In a different part of the academy, Kirumi sets down a cup of tea in front of a tired looking astronaut.

Kaito stares at the tea silently. 

“What would you like for lunch?” Kirumi asks delicately. 

Kaito doesn’t answer. Instead, he leans back in his chair and looks like he wants to be anywhere else in the world. 

However, a voice pipes up from Kaito’s left.

“Ice cream!” Kokichi answers. “The rock hard type too! Oh, oh!”

“Yes, Ouma?”

“And some milk,” Kokichi says sweetly as he bats his eyelids

Kirumi pulls a face and looks from Kokichi to Kaito. “If that is your request…”

She goes into the kitchen, leaving the two alone in the dining room. The moment Kirumi leaves, Kokichi slumps back into his chair. In one hand, he’s holding a pair of scissors. In his other, a couple of black and white straws. 

“Silly Monokuma,” Kokichi says as he cuts one of the straws. “He still uses plastic straws. Obviously he doesn’t care about the planet.”

Kaito’s eyes flicker from the table to the straws. He still seems unwilling to talk.

Kokichi doesn’t seem to mind. Perhaps he’s even welcoming the silence. The room fills with the sound of him cutting into another straw, which he places onto the table along with a couple of others. 

Kirumi returns to Kokichi still cutting up straws and Kaito staring blankly at his tea. 

“Perhaps ice cream isn’t a good idea,” Kirumi says as she sets two bowls down. She sits down across from Kokichi with a bowl of her own. Instead of ice cream, she’s filled hers with fruit. “Momota, if you’re not feeling well then maybe you should go back to bed. I’ll happily check up on your throughout the day and-”

“I don’t need a fucking babysitter,” Kaito spits, causing Kirumi to jump and Kokichi to drop a straw onto the floor. Kaito sighs as he leans forwards, elbows resting on the table and fingers running through his hair. “Shit, sorry.”

Kirumi clears her throat. “Ouma, what are you planning to do with all those straws anyway?”

Kokichi, who has finally put the scissors down, gathers up the straws in his hands and squeezes them with a smile. “I’m glad you asked! However, I can’t tell anyone until everyone has picked a straw!”

“Very well.” Kirumi accepts his answer. She looks too exhausted to care. When Kokichi offers her the pack of straws she picks the one that is closest to her. 

Kokichi smiles tightly and turns to Kaito. “Hey, Momota! Pick a straw!”

Kaito lifts his head up to momentarily stare at the straws. He picks one quickly before slamming his head down onto the table, causing Kirumi to wince. 

“Hmm?” Kokichi wrestles with Kaito’s hand to look at the straw. “Ooh! How interesting?”

“It seems Momota has a shorter straw than me,” Kirumi says with a frown. “What does-”

“I said I’ll explain everything later!” Kokichi promises as he readjusts the straws in his hands. His hands are unfortunately rather hot, which would make sense as they’re wrapped in bandages, this time professionally done by Kirumi. “Don’t worry too much about it!”

He turns to leave. 

“Ouma, you haven’t even touched any of your food,” Kirumi scolds. “I’m sure everyone else will pick straws when they come out of their rooms.”

“But I need to get this over and done with now!” Kokichi whines. “The sooner everyone picks a straw, the better!”

Kirumi looks uncomfortable. Maybe it’s because she doesn’t want to be left alone with someone she doesn’t know how to comfort. “Ouma, whatever you’re planning can wait until later. Please just sit down.”

“Eh, what’s the matter?” Kokichi asks. “Are you scared?”

“Of course not,” Kirumi answers. “I will admit I am rather uncomfortable not knowing what you are planning but I trust you’re not going to do anything stupid. It’s clear that we all need to have a sit down and discuss what we should do next-”

“You’re right,” Kokichi says, his voice turning frosty. “We do need to discuss what’s going to happen next.”

“Tojo, just let him go,” Kaito murmurs, his face still pressed against the table. “Just, both of you shut up.”

Kirumi opens and closes her mouth as Kokichi leaves the dining room with the straws. She looks down at her own straw held between two fingers. Whilst Kaito’s has been dramatically cut, hers isn’t too much shorter from its original size. 

She clears her throat and tries her best to ignore the awkward tension that only seems to grow. The fruit that she eats tastes off even though they looked clean enough to eat. She feels like she’s eating cardboard rather than something that should be delicious. 

Every so often, she looks from her bowl to Kaito. She can’t believe she’s witnessing his behaviour. Ever since she met him, Kirumi thought Kaito was someone who would never crumble. He seemed like a heroic person who could do absolutely anything because he believed he could do absolutely anything. Now, he’s slumped over a table and wheezing every other breath. 

She then remembers that he’s also dying. 

Kirumi wonders what it’s like to be able to believe that you can do everything but live. 

The doors swing open and Kiyo walks in. He doesn’t look as well presented as he usually does. His uniform has been put on sloppily; some of the badges are missing. Even his hat is missing, although he probably wouldn’t be able to put it on since his hair has been tied back. Kirumi can see due to the lighting of the kitchen that Kiyo’s hair is unwashed and looks rather shiny in a negative way. 

Kiyo drops a long straw onto the table and his nose scrunches from under his mask when he sees the bowls of ice cream. 

“A rather strange choice of lunch,” Kiyo decides to say as he sits down. His leg starts to bounce. “May I ask why?”

“Ouma,” Kirumi answers.

Kiyo hums and looks at Kirumi. “You really do spoil everyone here, Tojo. You are quite the amazing woman.”

“Oh, thank you,” Kirumi responds, her cheeks turning hot. “But I must insist that you are being far too kind. I am a maid, after all. Looking after people is what I enjoy doing.”

“Well, yes,” Kiyo says as his leg continues to bounce. He restlessly puts his hands on the table, his fingers drumming against the surface. “But you really are outstanding. Everything about you is just so...beautiful. Yes, indeed. You are the only woman here who hasn’t let me down yet.”

Kirumi blinks. “Whatever do you mean?”

Kiyo’s leg somehow goes faster. “Tojo, you must realise that a lot of women here have had some terrible attitudes. They either turn out to be killers, liars or just have disturbing attitudes. However, you’ve been the only one who I’ve found to be perfect.”

“If this is a declaration of your love then I must-”

“Decline? Yes, I understand,” Kiyo quickly says. “Do not worry, Tojo. I must admit I have my eyes set on someone else. They have so...many to offer, after all.”

“Many?”

“Much!” Kiyo corrects himself. “So much to offer. My apologies, my head has been all over the place you see. After yesterday’s events, I’ve found myself devastated that I allowed myself to be deceived to think Shirogane was a kind woman.”

Kirumi looks uncomfortable as she places her fork onto the table. “I too am disappointed that I never realised Shirogane was the mastermind. It’s only now that I realise that maybe it’s because she’s always been overlooked. She just seemed too meek to actually be able to do something so cruel.”

“She got what she deserved,” Kiyo bitterly says. “Now we need to identify the new mastermind and put a stop to this game. I’m getting rather impatient now. We’ve been trapped here for weeks.”

Kirumi puts a cup of tea to her lips and looks away. She wants to leave too. 

Kiyo sighs. “Why is Ouma telling people to grab straws anyway? I told him to simply give me one but he insisted that I had to pick one myself.”

“He’s planning something,” Kirumi tells him. “I have no idea what but he’s up to something. I must admit that I’m feeling rather nervous but there’s nothing to do but wait at this point.”

“Ouma is the only person left we should really feel wary about,” Kiyo admits. “After all-”

Kaito abruptly stands up from his chair, causing it to fall onto the floor.

“Ah,” Kiyo says as he puts a hand to his mouth. “Momota, I-”

“Going back to bed,” Kaito mutters. “Knew it was a bad idea to get up.”

“Please don’t push yourself,” Kirumi calls as Kaito leaves the room, the short straw still held tightly in his hand. 

Kiyo’s leg finally stops bouncing. “That was rather insensitive of me.”

“But you are correct,” Kirumi reminds him. “Harukawa was someone we were all wary of. Perhaps that’s why the new mastermind got rid of her first.”

“Hmm?”

“Well, I can’t help but think about the three people the mastermind disposed of,” Kirumi says. “First, they got rid of Saihara meaning the trials would become more difficult. I’m sure that was on purpose. Then they got rid of Shirogane as she had been failing at her job of being the mastermind. Finally, they got rid of the most dangerous person in the group.”

“Perhaps the new mastermind is a paranoid person,” Kiyo says. “They got rid of the smartest person here meaning we have a higher chance of failing a class trial. I presume Monokuma wouldn’t kill the mastermind along with everyone else. They also got rid of Harukawa. I must admit, I was waiting for Harukawa to finally snap. I do find it strange that we never kept a closer eye on her from the start.”

“Momota was keeping an eye on her,” Kirumi responds. “But then the previous motive meant that the two of them had to be kept separated.”

Kiyo hums. “So not only is the new mastermind paranoid but they’re also smart.”

Kirumi sips her tea. “There’s quite a few people who fit that category. Ouma, Iruma and…”

“And?”

“It’s nothing,” Kirumi says. “There’s no way Amami is the mastermind.”

Kiyo bristles. “Quite right. He’s done nothing but try to protect everyone.”

Kirumi smiles. “He is so brave. To protect Ouma like he did yesterday, he has to have some guts.”

“So, you think that the mastermind is either Iruma or Ouma?”

“They are the most likely candidates,” Kirumi agrees. “I sometimes hear Iruma talk to herself when she thinks no one is listening and Ouma is well, he’s Ouma. He hasn’t exactly presented himself as the most trustworthy person here.”

“He just seems so obvious,” Kiyo admits. “But even if we do find the mastermind, what do we do? Amami said yesterday that we shouldn’t kill the mastermind but instead capture them. Although, I do wonder if we should even call the second mastermind the mastermind. They seem more like a traitor to me.”

Kirumi nods. “Traitor does seem more like a fitting title. Only a traitor would continue the killing game for Shirogane.”

“What a situation,” Kiyo says. “I don’t think I truly realised what we must turn ourselves into to actually end the killing game. Is it right to kill someone to save everyone else?”

“Akamatsu must’ve asked herself that same question when she tried to kill Amami,” Kirumi tells him. “And she seemed to think it was the right answer for a short while.”

“This killing game truly has brought out the evil in people,” Kiyo says. “There’s not many pure people left.”

Kirumi nods in agreement. 

“But at this rate, do we really have time to worry about who is pure and who isn’t?” Kiyo wonders. “There’s only seven of us left, correct? Myself, yourself, Momota, Ouma, Yumeno, Amami and Iruma. Monokuma told us that there can be only two survivors and soon someone really desperate is going to realise that.”

“Someone could just take everyone out,” Kirumi realises. “Momota is getting weak and killing Yumeno and Iruma wouldn’t be too much of a problem.”

“Amami seems kind enough that he’d let someone kill him if someone convinced him enough,” Kiyo adds. “Tojo, this is an uncomfortable question but if someone requested you to kill someone then would you?”

“I’d never harm anyone here,” Kirumi instantly answers. “We’ve already lost so many people. I could never entertain the idea of losing one more person.”

“But that’s the reality we are living in,” Kiyo says. “We’re practically living in Hell.”

“No, that’s wrong,” Kirumi insists. “There’s nothing good in Hell. However, I know deep down that there’s still good people left. If we are in Hell then...he would’ve died long ago.”

Kiyo looks at her before a smile forms under his mask. “Ah, I finally see.”

“H-Huh?”

“I’m afraid at the moment you are like an open book, Tojo,” Kiyo says. “But don’t worry, I won’t say anything to him.”

“I’m sorry?”

“Tell me, Tojo, have you ever given in to your own desires?” Kiyo asks. “You always look after everyone here but you never ask for anything in return. I’m sure if you ask him then you’ll also realise that he also has feelings for you too. I must admit, I am rather disappointed as I too very much would’ve liked to have a future with him but perhaps this is for the best? Yes, perhaps that is the truth. If the two of you were together then…”

Kiyo trails off whilst Kirumi gawps at him.

“Shinguji, I’m afraid I have no idea what you’re on about,” Kirumi finally says. 

“You don’t?” Kiyo blinks. “Do you not realise the longing looks you give Amami?”

Kirumi’s face burns red. “I-”

“So I am correct,” Kiyo says, his eyes crinkling. “Tojo, did yesterday not tell you anything? You may only have a limited amount of time left here before something tragic happens. Don’t you want to have what time left spent with someone you love?”

“That’s…” Kirumi puts her hands to her cheeks. She can feel the heat burning from them through her gloves. “That’s wishful thinking. Isn’t it better to wish for a future with someone you love rather than a moment?”

“Of course!” Kiyo’s eyes go wide. “Ah, you have such beautiful thoughts, Tojo!”

“What the fuck is Shinguji having an orgasm over?”

Kirumi jumps as she spots Miu by the door.

“Ah, well…”

“Actually, I don’t want to know,” Miu answers with a shudder. “He probably has freakier kinks than me.”

Kiyo doesn’t retort to this as he continues to hold his arms out and smile towards the ceiling. 

“Um…” Kirumi clears her throat. “Good afternoon, Iruma. Have you spoken to Ouma yet? He’s decided to hand out straws.”

“Yeah!” Miu nods as she holds out her straw. “Of course I’d get a short one! I’m not allowed one bit of satisfaction in this hell hole!”

“So you got a short one,” Kirumi murmurs. “I got a long one.”

Miu groans. “Ugh, rub it in why don’t you! I do anything for some fucking relief right now!”

Kirumi smartly decides to change the topic. “Aren’t you curious about Ouma’s plan?”

“The twink has a plan?” Miu asks. “Not particularly. I’m fucking done with this place. As long as Ouma isn’t planning to kill me then he can do whatever the hell he wants.”

“That’s a dangerous way of thinking.”

“Shut up!” Miu shouts. “This place is just full of fucking liars who are ready to stab everyone in the back the first chance they get. You can all do whatever the fuck you want but keep me out of it!”

“But Iruma, there’s more safety in numbers-”

“Safety in numbers my ass!” Miu retorts. “Saihara was killed right in front of us and nearly everyone was in the same room! Everyone here is just looking out for themselves at this point! Someone was desperate enough to fucking join forces with Monokuma, the fucking traitor! He’ll just keep going and going until he’s satisfied!”

“Then what do you suggest we do?” Kirumi asks. “Wait until Monokuma gives us another motive? As much as we don’t want to believe it, someone has fallen for each motive we’ve been given. We need to act now before someone else-”

“Before someone else dies, fuck, everyone sounds the same here!” Miu cries. “We all prattle on about sticking together but someone always eventually betrays the group. What’s the fucking point sticking around anymore? It’s just the same bullshit over and over! Fuck all of y’all!”

Miu storms into the kitchen and returns with her arms full of packets of food. 

“Iruma, what are you planning to do?”

“Why the fuck should I tell you!?” Miu sneers. “Fuck off, Tojo.”

Miu leaves, the door slamming loudly behind her.

\---

Rantaro and Himiko stare at the wall that had just blown up seconds ago.

“Well then,” Rantaro says as he brushes dust from his body. “I wasn’t really expecting that.”

“It’s a good thing you heard that ticking noise,” Himiko agrees. 

They walk towards the new door that has been presented to them. From the look of things, this is Rantaro’s lab. However, Rantaro is certainly not fond of the design on his door. It looks like something Maki should’ve had on her door.

Even Himiko seems nervous as she glances at Rantaro and then at the door.

“I swear I’m not a dangerous guy,” Rantaro insists.

“I know.”

Rantaro goes into the room first and abruptly stops once he sees what’s inside. 

The lab is a mess. There’s various objects scattering the floor as well as rows of bloody red roses. In the centre of the room is a table with sixteen chairs surrounding it. Rantaro thinks that the chairs share an unnerving resemblance to the podiums in the trial room. There’s empty picture frames dangling from the ceiling, hanging from red string. Along with the picture frames are pieces of paper which are full of illegible scrawls. 

On the walls are pictures of people that have been framed. Rantaro counts them and bites the nail of his thumb when he realises that there’s sixteen of them. Every single one of the pictures has red paint covering the person’s face. 

The most noticeable thing in the room however is the twin safe. 

“Do you know the code?” Himiko asks. 

Rantaro shakes his head. “I have no clue.”

“Maybe the laptop will help us,” Himiko says as she points at a laptop that has been left on the table. 

Rantaro turns on the laptop and frowns. There’s nothing installed onto it at all. Although, he guesses that something could potentially be downloaded onto it. For now, he’ll leave it be. It’s not like there’s anything he can do about it right now. 

“This place is creepy,” Himiko admits as she leans on one of the chairs. It’s almost as tall as her. “Amami, why is your lab like this?”

“I really don’t know.”

He feels a bite of jealousy. Everyone else has labs that are suited to their likes and needs. His lab is an entire mess and holds more questions than answers. It doesn’t help that the entire room makes him feel uneasy. He wants to feel welcome in his lab, not an intruder. 

“You’re the Ultimate Survivor, right?” Himiko presses. “Maybe this lab will help explain why.”

“Maybe.”

He’s drawn back to the safe. There must be something inside that explains his lab. Right now, he’s at a loss.

There’s twelve images on each panel. Rantaro puts a hand on his hip. He’s got plenty of time to go through each combination. If he’s lucky he might be able to open up the safe in a couple of hours. It’ll give him something to do for the time being. 

Himiko sits down on one of the chairs and kicks her legs as she looks at the safe. Her eyes are still red from crying before but at least she’s not as miserable. Rantaro still plans to keep an eye on her however, just to be safe. He believes she deserves to live even if she doesn’t think that herself. 

Rantaro has to stand on the tips of his toes to reach the top of the dial to spin it. It doesn’t help that the dials are made from heavy metal that makes it even heavier to move the dials. He huffs. Maybe it’ll take longer to open up the safe than he expected. Whatever is inside better be worth it. 

“Maybe we should open up the last area first,” Himiko says, causing Rantaro to jump. “It might take awhile before you actually get the right combination.”

His curiosity huffs but his logic sighs in agreement. “Yeah, I guess so.”

“I think it’s Momota’s lab next,” Himiko says. “But I can’t really remember. I do think he needs something different to focus on right now though so maybe finding his lab will be a good thing.”

“Of course.”

After a trek downstairs, they finally find the door that they need to unlock. The key snaps once the door is unlocked and Rantaro lets it drop to the floor. 

He blanches when he sees the long winding staircase that seems to go on and on forever. Even Himiko shrinks back.

“I don’t think I can do it,” Himiko says. “Nuh uh, no way.”

Rantaro doesn’t want to think about climbing all those steps on his own. “I’ll give you a piggyback?”

This is how Rantaro finds himself breathless at the top of the steps with a refreshed looking Himiko on his back. 

“Phew! That seemed tiring!” Himiko says as she slides down his back. “Thanks Amami!”

“No...problem…”

Himiko passes him and hops down a thin hallway. “Amami! I was right! Momota’s lab is up here! You can tell because of the design on the door!”

Rantaro catches his breath slowly and watches from the corner of his eye as Himiko pushes the door open and wanders into the lab. It should be fine, Kaito doesn’t seem like the type of person who would get hostile about letting people explore his lab. Rantaro does worry however about Kaito climbing all those steps just to get to his lab. He doubts Kaito will be able to do it as frequently as he would want to. 

He heads into the lab himself once he gets his breath back and his eyes go wide. 

The lab is breathtaking in a way. He looks up at the ceiling at the projected galaxy. The stars swirl in time with the light projectors, which rotate slowly. For a moment, Rantaro allows himself to feel safe. Nothing can hurt you in space, right?

“It’s like a simulation of some sort,” Himiko says as she hops from low decking. “I don’t think you can actually control anything but it might be fun to pretend for a little while.”

“Or maybe something really does work here,” Rantaro says. “We’ll have to bring Kaito up here. Maybe he’ll be able to figure out how everything works.”

“Maybe he can control the academy!?” Himiko gasps. 

Rantaro smiles awkwardly. “I doubt Monokuma would let us have control of the academy. I think his lab really is just a simulation of some sort.”

“Well that’s disappointing,” Himiko murmurs. “Everyone knows a simulation is just a simulation. If it doesn’t even do anything then what’s the point.”

“I think it’s the experience,” Rantaro explains. “Maybe this place is just the trick to cheer Kaito up. Hopefully it will remind him of happier things.”

“I suppose so,” Himiko says, although she still looks disappointed. 

She looks surprised when her stomach starts to gurgle. Her face turns a wild red as she puts her hands to her stomach. 

“I missed breakfast…”

“Then I guess we better go to the dining hall!”

Rantaro leaves the lab and looks down the steps.

“Amami, what’s wrong?”

“I really can’t be bothered,” Rantaro admits. “Maybe I can roll down?”

“You’ll probably break your neck…”

“...jump?”

Himiko stares at him. 

“How about I give you a piggyback?”

“No offence Yumeno but I don’t see that happening.”

“Yeah, you’re right,” Himiko says. “I just wanted to be nice.”

Rantaro sighs and starts the tedious and painful walk back down the steps. Maybe he should beg Monokuma to install an elevator of some sort. It would benefit everyone, after all.

He’s met with a pleasant surprise at the bottom of the steps. He spots Kokichi poking his head through the checkered doors, looking rather surprised that they’re now open.

“Eh?! You explored without me!?”

“I asked you plenty of times if you wanted to come,” Rantaro answers as Kokichi allows them through the doors. “Are you feeling better?”

“Peachy,” Kokichi says before he thrusts his hands at the pair. “Pick a straw!”

“Why?” Himiko asks. 

Impatiently, Kokichi shakes his hands. “Because I said so!”

Rantaro picks the straw on the left, leaving Himiko with the straw on the right. However, they both quickly realise that they have identical straws both in colour and in length.

“Now that’s everyone!” Kokichi cheers. “About time too! Now, to the dining hall! We’re wasting time!”

Kokichi all but drags the both of them to the dining hall and lets out a yell of disbelief when he notices Miu and Kaito are missing. He throws both Himiko and Rantaro into the room before rushing off. 

“Good afternoon!” Kirumi says rather quickly. “I-”

“I’m hungry,” Himiko says as she takes a seat at the table.

“I see,” Kirumi responds. “Amami, do you want me to make you something too?”

“Yes please.”

She steps out with two plates of food at the same time Kokichi pushes Miu into the room. Behind Kokichi is Kaito who looks a little irritated.

“I already said I don’t care,” Kaito says. “Just, shit, do whatever.”

“But Momota!” Kokichi whines, grabbing his arm and pulling. “I’m actually, really, truthfully, one hundred percent going to end the killing game!”

“You are?” Kirumi blinks.

Rantaro raises an eyebrow. “Ouma, no offence but-”

“Shh!” Kokichi sighs as he sinks onto a chair. “Does everyone have their straws?”

Everyone pulls out their straws.

“What the fuck is this about anyway?” Miu asks. She’s not sitting next to anyone and has positioned herself so that she’s closest to the door. Clearly she’s done this so she can bolt at any given moment. 

“Well…” Kokichi says as he rests his chin in his hand. “I spent a lot of time thinking and have figured out the most efficient way to end everything. You’re welcome, by the way.”

“And?” Kiyo waits expectantly.

“It’s clear there’s no way to end the killing game but by completing it,” Kokichi explains. “Plenty of people have tried to end it their own way and so far nothing has worked and there’s not really enough of us left to keep it up. I mean, if someone does have a plan then by all means, do it. No one is going to stop you.”

“No one has a fucking plan,” Miu says. “And what’s with the straws?!”

“Is it fair to say that I gave everyone a fair choice to pick their straw?” Kokichi suddenly asks. 

“I think so?” Himiko says and looks down at her straw. 

Kokichi holds out his own straw. “Then perfect! In that case, everyone who has a long straw is going to die.”

Kirumi, who is still holding onto the plates, drops them.

“Excuse me?” Kiyo hisses. “But what on earth do you mean?”

“I said, whoever has a long straw is going to die,” Kokichi repeats. “What’s so hard to understand about that?”

“Have you lost your mind?” Kirumi asks as she notices red sauce trickle down her skirts. “We’re not just going to let you kill us!”

“Eh? Did I say anything about me killing you all?” Kokichi responds. He tilts his head to the side. “Whoever has a long straw is going to kill someone else with a long straw.”

“W-What about people who have a short straw?” Miu hesitantly asks, holding up her own short straw.

“Congrats! You get to live!” Kokichi cheers. “Way to go, Miu!”

Kaito throws his short straw onto the table. “Someone can have my straw. I don’t need it.”

“Momota!” Kokichi whines. “That’s not how it works! You get to live! Isn’t that exciting?”

“I’m fucking dying,” Kaito retorts. “Why waste a short straw on me.”

Kokichi looks at him blankly.

“I won’t be participating in Ouma’s madness,” Kiyo bitterly says. “Clearly the poison has done something to him to think of something so idiotic.”

“So you’re saying Iruma and Momota don’t deserve to live?” Kokichi asks.

Kiyo bristles. “That’s not what-”

“Aren’t you all tired of people sacrificing themselves for no reason?” Kokichi questions the group. “There’s only one end to this game and that is two people leaving alive. We can either willingly end everything now and save two people or we can be selfish and keep this game going.”

“Ouma, of course we want to end the game,” Rantaro says tightly. “But this? This isn’t right.”

Himiko twirls the straw around in her hands. “But maybe he is right. Two people leaving is better than none.”

“That’s the spirit!” Kokichi cooes. “See, Yumeno gets it!”

“It doesn’t matter if she gets it!” Kiyo says, his voice slowly rising. “I do not consent to this foolishness! Have you not considered that maybe some of us don’t want to die?”

Kokichi relaxes into the chair. “I mean, the only other option is for the mastermind to agree to stop the killing game. Hey, mister or miss mastermind! Please stop the killing game! Preeeeeety please?”

“Stop it,” Kirumi snaps. “You know that’s not going to work.”

“There must be another way,” Rantaro says quietly. “There must…”

“Hey, you can all keep telling yourselves that if you want,” Kokichi responds. “I’m not going to stop you. Maybe you should all just think about the consequences of keeping this game going though. We all hide behind fake friendships and trust but tell me, how long is it before something really horrible happens? I mean, someone in this room has betrayed us all already and has the means to save everyone. Isn’t it better to just cut our losses and send at least two people home?”

“Picking who gets to go home through straws isn’t fair,” Kirumi counters. “If we even consider going with your idea then we should pick people who deserve to-”

“Are you saying I don’t deserve to leave this hell hole?!” Miu shrieks. “Fuck you! I want to leave this place more than any of you fuckers!”

Kiyo’s eyes turn to slits. “That’s easy for you to say. You’ve got a short straw.”

Miu holds her straw to her chest. “That ain’t my fucking problem.”

“I’ve already said someone else can have my straw,” Kaito huffs. “I’m already dead.”

“You could still leave if we start my plan now,” Kokichi responds. “Hey, Yumeno! Do you want to kill me or shall I kill you?”

“No one is killing anyone!” Rantaro cuts in. “Just think about what you’re suggesting, Ouma!”

“Only someone as cruel as the mastermind would suggest something like this,” Kiyo suddenly says. “Clearly Ouma is just playing with us at this point. How regrettable that we decided to save him.”

Himiko bites her lip. “I thought we already decided that Ouma isn’t the mastermind.”

“Even so, what he is suggesting is just going to cause another murder,” Kirumi says. “And I won’t allow anymore people to die! Ouma, we simply can’t go along with your idea-”

“How selfish,” Kokichi comments. “You all really do just think about yourselves.”

“We want to live…” Rantaro weakly says. “There’s nothing wrong with that.”

“Of course there isn’t,” Kokichi agrees. “But is anyone truly thinking about anyone else? You’re all trying to find an easy way out without considering the consequences. The truth is that we’re all not going to get out of here alive. More of us are going to die until there’s two of us left. Why not just end things peacefully?”

“If that’s how you want to die then so be it,” Kiyo answers. “But I will never agree with your plans. I have made it this far and I don’t plan on dying any time soon.”

He abruptly stands up and throws his straw onto the table before leaving the room. 

“I am in agreement,” Kirumi says and places her straw next to Kiyo’s. “Whilst it may be selfish of me to want to live, it’s even more selfish for you to choose who gets to live and die. If you’ll excuse me.”

Kirumi follows Kiyo out of the dining room. 

Kokichi sighs closes his eyes. 

“Man, what a pain! Well, there goes my plan of having a good old corpse party,” Kokichi says. “Well, whatever.”

“Hey!” Miu thrusts her straw forwards. “I still have a short straw! Even though those assholes don’t care about my life I still want to fucking live!”

“Relax! You still get to live,” Kokichi responds. “And you too, Momota! I just have to...think of something else.”

“Please don’t,” Rantaro says. “Ouma, you’re not being fair.”

“You’re right, I’m not being fair,” Kokichi agrees. “But someone has to make all of the hard decisions. It’s clear everyone left is too emotionally constipated to even entertain the idea of finding a realistic way out of here.”

“There has to be-”

“If one more person tells me that then I’m going to explode!” Kokichi snaps. “You’ve all convinced yourself that there has to be a secret way out but there isn’t! There will never be another way out of here. Our only options are to win or lose. I promise if you all continue to hope for an exit that doesn’t exist then you’re all going to die meaningless deaths.”

“Our deaths will never be meaningless,” Rantaro counters. He frowns as he places his straw onto the table. “Ouma, I don’t want to argue but I don’t agree with your plan.”

“You’ve made that obvious,” Kokichi snorts. “Go on then, shoo!”

Rantaro’s face falls before he too leaves the dining room. 

“Do you really think that there’s no way out of here?” Himiko asks softly. 

“Of course there isn’t,” Kaito answers, causing the mage to jump. “It’s just taken this long to accept the truth.”

“Wow! Momota sure has changed his tune!” Kokichi comments, staring up at the astronaut. “I would’ve thought you of all people would’ve hated my plan yet here you are!”

Kaito coughs into his hand. “I’ve wasted enough time believing in the wrong things. I just...can’t find a fucking reason to continue.”

“Hey, don’t speak like that. You have a short straw!” Miu comments. “Stop throwing yourself a shitty little pity party and be grateful that you get to leave this place!”

“I’m not leaving!” Kaito retorts. “Someone else can have the straw. I don’t deserve it.”

He harshly presses the short straw into Kokichi’s palm, only stopping when the smaller male openly winces. 

“This is not how it works,” Kokichi says. “If I choose who gets this straw then I’m no better than Monokuma.”

Kaito scowls at the short straw. “Then find a way to let someone else have it. I’m done.”

Kokichi almost looks like he’s ready to call after the astronaut when Kaito leaves the room. Almost. Instead, Kokichi slouches onto the table, resting his head against the cool surface and allowing the short straw and his own to roll onto the floor. 

“Do you think everyone hates me?” Kokichi suddenly asks the last two people in the room. 

“Do you want everyone to hate you?” Himiko responds. 

Kokichi doesn’t answer her question. 

“Who gives a fuck,” Miu says. “I don’t know why you’re not snatching up the straw for yourself.”

Himiko sadly bends her straw. “I don’t want Tenko to be disappointed in me but…”

“Tsk.” Miu stands up, causing her chair to topple backwards. “I’m going to find somewhere to hide. No doubt those fuckers are going to come after me and my straw.”

Himiko watches Miu almost walk into the wall as she leaves the room. 

“Hey, Yumeno?”

“Yeah?”

Kokichi lifts his head up and his expression is blank before a grin grows on his face. “Man, you look so worried! I was just joking, you know? No one is really going to kill each other!”

“This was all just a prank?” Himiko responds quietly. 

“Yep! And you all fell for it!”

Himiko’s jaw clenches and unclenches before she throws her straw with the rest of them. 

“I was ready to die,” Himiko hisses from under her hat. “I wanted…”

Kokichi only shrugs and Himiko stares at him, betrayal swirling in her eyes before she spins around. 

“You’re so cruel, Ouma,” Himiko tells him. “Why would you play with everyone’s feelings like that?”

Kokichi once again shrugs. 

“Everyone really wanted to save you yesterday,” Himiko snaps as she storms towards the doors. “I was worried sick! You’re a horrible person to tell everyone who saved you that they should die.”

“You’re right, I am a horrible person.”

Himiko gives him one last stare before running away. 

“A horrible person with horrible intentions,” Kokichi says to himself, leaning back on his chair. “Well, I suppose you do have to be a horrible person to agree to be the new mastermind after all!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Kokichi why


End file.
